Author's Note: Yet again, doing a kid was hard. Denzel, at least. Yuffie doesn't really act like a kid, even if she is full of mischief. It was hard to do the style of this one, but I think it came out reasonably.

Raising the Bar
Yuffie and Denzel

"Ready?" the hushed whisper was barely loud enough to be heard. They needed to be silent or they would be caught, and that would ruin their mission. They had a task to complete, and it wouldn't happen if anyone noticed them before they could carry it out.

"Ready," came the answering whisper, accompanied by an eager nod. The boy was eager, but nervous. It was his first mission and he was worried about how it would go. His mentor had told him that it would be fine, and he wasn't going to do most of the work anyway, but he was still nervous. He wasn't as good at moving silently as his teacher was, and he didn't want to be the one to get them caught. But he had to be here- he was the one who knew the layout of the place.

"All right. Let's go," The mentor crept silently down the hallways, cautiously avoiding the sounds of conversation coming from a door down the hallway. There are too many people present for their liking, but that's the way it always is in their targets' place. At least right now they're all in the same place. Even so, the master keeps looking for quick hiding places, should someone leave the gathering and come toward them. They can't afford to be caught doing this.

The master inclines her head toward a door, to indicate that they're going in. She tries the door, just in case, but it's unlocked like she expected. The people here are far too complacent.

They both make a face at the clutter in the room. Their job has just been made harder. The two of them still have a lot more rooms to search and raid. They can't spend too much time here, so they get started.

"Stupid old man. Where'd he put it?" the Master mutters, carefully moving papers and other clutter from the desk. She's going to put it back exactly the way it was, once she's finished. But she was to find what she's looking for, first. Next to her, her apprentice is watching, keenly trying to spot out their goal.

"Here's one," the apprentice says quietly, hand darting out to grab an object quickly. "Doesn't look like there are any more on the desk, though."

"You deal with it. I know the old man has a few more in here." She said as she quickly replaced the papers, and then opened the drawers of the desk. "Nothing." She growls, clearly frustrated. Then her face brightens. "Wait, I know where the geezer would put it." A quick look around the room confirms her suspicions, and she goes over to the spear leaning in the corner of the room. "Here it is."

The apprentice nods and takes their prize, pausing to examine each one and write notes about each one. This is all part of the job, and if they do it right, it'll be priceless.

"Is that all of them?" the Master asks, giving the room a once-over.

The apprentice nods. "This is all. One extra, even. He must not have remembered it when he was listing them to me. He probably doesn't care about it that much."

"We'll take it anyway." The woman says, with a mischievous grin and a nod. "It'll make everything seem more impressive." She takes one final glance around the room to make sure that nothing is out of place, and once she is assured she goes over to the door, listening for the sound of anyone in the hall. She hears nothing. "All right kid, lead on." She whispers, and opens the door again.

The two continue on with their mission. It is not easy by any means. They have to search everywhere to find everything they're looking for. They have to pick locks, break things, get into places filled with dust and forgotten items. They're finding treasures that their victims have lost, making the job all the more satisfying. But they have several close calls along the way, at one point even having to hide behind a door to keep from being seen. But they manage it.

Now, they are finishing up with the last part of their mission. Everything is set up, in a perfect stack, labels arranged neatly and facing forward so that they are clearly visible. The Master leans a sign against the base and steps back, clapping her hands together as if dusting them off. "All right, time to make ourselves scarce. We don't want to be around when they find out." She says, and then turns to go. Her apprentice falls in behind her. They have the perfect hiding place picked out. They will be able to hear the reaction, but they won't be found.

It takes a little while for anyone to find the result of their hard work. They could tell by the yelp of shock and a sudden bellowed curse. One sounded surprised, the other angry. It was soon accompanied by other voices, sounding concerned at the outburst, then expressing similar feelings of shock and dismay. Some of them sound slightly amused.

Yuffie turns to Denzel, grinning wickedly. "Too bad we couldn't see their faces, huh?" She said with a snicker. "I bet Cid blew a gasket." She held up her hand for a high five.

Denzel returns it, with a grin of his own. "They know it was you who thought of it, though." He told her.

Yuffie shrugged. "They would have known anyway. Materia's my thing, remember? But they know that you helped me." She smirked. "You think you can do better than this on your own, kid?"

Denzel nodded. "Definitely." He returned.

Yuffie snickered. "Cheers for corrupting the youth." She giggled to herself.

In the middle of the floor of Seventh Heaven, surrounded by the other members of AVALANCHE, was a perfectly arranged pyramid of materia. Each one sported a label- what kind it was, who it belonged to, and where it had been found. In front of the pile, there was a sign leaning against it that read, "Love, Yuffie and Denzel."