Polarity

1: Mission Time!

Yuffie Kisaragi, The Single White Rose of Wutai, is many things.

She is patient and kind - the majority of the time, at least.

She is super strong - especially when fighting gross monsters and the ultimate baddies like the silver-haired weirdos and those creepy Deepground people.

She is awesome at pickpocketing innocent bystanders and an even more fabulous at being a hardcore ninja.

She has really good friends and is a good friend.

She never backs down from a challenge, whether the competition is who can eat the most hot dogs in five minutes, or who can make Rufus really annoyed in less than one minute.

Those cool adjectives and scenarios are just a few aspects of the multifaceted personality of Yuffie Kisaragi.

But right now…Yuffie was not showing her bright and beautiful side.

Quite the contrary, actually.

"REEEEEEVE! I AM NOT GOING!! THIS WOULD BE THE SIXTH MISSION THIS MONTH!" Yuffie screamed as she jumped on top of Reeve Tuesti's desk in her attempt to strangle the innocent WRO leader. "I'M SICK OF THIS! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!"

Reeve cleared his throat as he tried to calmly detach Yuffie's vice-like grip on his tie. He wished that his hands weren't shaking slightly, though. Tiny as she was, Yuffie Kisaragi had the tendency to make him really apprehensive sometimes. He never knew when she was going to strike. "Yuffie, please calm down-"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Yuffie interrupted, tightening her grip on his tie threateningly. "What are you going to do about it, anyway? Nyuk nyuk nyuk." Her infamous smirk appeared on her face. "You gonna call Cait Sith in here like last time?"

The WRO leader sighed, ignoring her last comment and willing himself not to roll his eyes at the overdramatic ninja. "Well, to start, you could actually allow me to finish more than one sentence."

Yuffie huffed indignantly, slowly releasing Reeve's purple and blue polka-dotted tie from her hold. She did not, however, move an inch from her spot on his desk. She was actually still hovering over him like a lion ready to pounce on an cute little lamb. "Go right ahead then, boss."

Reeve sighed again. "Yuffie, the mission I am asking you to undertake is actually not that complicated. I don't understand why you're so upset about it."

Yuffie's cheeks reddened in her anger. "I'm angry because I love to work alone, but you're probably going to send me with a partner again, am I right? Even after you said yourself that it wouldn't be that hard."

Reeve nodded.

"You don't trust me to do anything by myself! I'm the friggin MASTER of intelligence and espionage, Reevey! I can do everything…and then some! By MYSELF!" She adjusted her position on his desk by leaning back to sit, Indian-style. "What's worse is that the stupid partner for this mission is probably going to be Reno again, right?"

Reeve shook his head.

"See!? That's what makes me so ang---wait, what!?" Yuffie blinked in confusion. "If Reno's not gonna be my partner…then who is?"

A shadow of a smile appeared on Reeve's face. "Well…Cloud Strife, of course."

"WHAT!?" Unfortunately for Yuffie, her sudden exclamation caused her to lose her balance on Reeve Tuesti's desk, and she tumbled to the floor in a heap of ninja limbs. "Ouch…that hurt more than I was expecting it to…"

Reeve chuckled to himself. "If I knew that this would've been your reaction when you found out that Mr. Strife was your partner…well, I would have told you sooner, Yuffie." He smirked, absentmindedly scratching his goatee as Yuffie cursed him in Wutainese from her position on the not-so-comfy floor.

XxXxX

"Cloud, wait! Where are you going?" Tifa was walking down the stairs when Cloud turned around to face her. "You just got back yesterday."

"Reeve called. He said something about another mission," the blonde mercenary explained calmly. "I don't know how long I'll be gone this time."

Tifa clasped her hands together as she dropped her gaze to the floor. "Okay. Well…promise to call every now and then? To check in, I mean. Denzel loves hearing about everything you do on your jobs," Tifa said. "He…we are going to miss you, Cloud. Stay safe, okay?"

Cloud nodded once before he turned around again to leave Seventh Heaven.

As he mounted Fenrir, strapping his sword in the correct holster and carefully donning his goggles, he silently wondered why Tifa worried about him so much. He could take care of himself. He thought that he had already proved that fact…after everything that had happened in the past several years.

Sephiroth…Kadaj…Deepground…

Cloud shook his head a few times to clear his jumbled thoughts. The numerous battles that he has participated in always seemed to come back to haunt him at the most inopportune of moments.

Like when he is riding a motorcycle. For example.

Cloud shook his head again, leaning his body slightly to the side as he took a sharp turn.

Reeve sounded a little off when he was speaking of the mission, Cloud suddenly remembered. Could there be something more to it than he thought? But even if there was…what could it be?

Cloud sighed. He didn't really care all that much, anyway. He'll find out soon enough. He was heading straight for the WRO headquarters for a quick debrief on the mission before he left again. Then, he will find out everything that he needed to know.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

XxXxX

"He's on his way right now!?" Yuffie had only just regained her composure before Reeve had been so kind as to share this newest bit of information with her. "Dammit, Reeve. Does that mean I have to leave for the mission as soon as he gets here? I didn't even get a chance to-"

"Your knapsack is already packed with items, and your weapons are cleaned and at the ready, Miss Kisaragi," Reeve stated, a business-like tone in his voice.

Yuffie suddenly thought about something really important. "But what about-"

"Yes, Yuffie. The materia is all accounted for as well," he cut her off with a sly smile. "Now you can't possibly find a way to stall," he added with a small chuckle.

"Why do you find this so funny?" Yuffie demanded, stomping her foot on the floor like a little child whining about getting something precious taken away from her. "I never even agreed to going, remember? Nyuk nyuk. Cloud being my partner doesn't change anything!"

"Oh…well, judging by the look on your face when I told you he was your partner, I had assumed things had changed," Reeve thought aloud with a pensive look on his face. "Ah, well. Maybe when he gets here, you'll change your mind."

"Doubt it," Yuffie muttered under her breath, but she couldn't help but wonder as well. The more she thought about it…the more this mission didn't seem that bad.

Reason number one: there was no Reno!

Reason number two: she was going to be working with Cloud - he was way better than Reno, even if he did have weird chocobo hair.

Reason number three: this could be the mission that she actually ends up showing her true value to Reeve and the WRO - she'd never need a partner again!

"Nyuk nyuk nyuk…"

"Plotting something to yourself again?" Reeve asked. "You have that look on your face again, dear." He shook his head as he fixed his tie, returning his attention to the work in front of him - Yuffie had managed to mess up the portfolios and reports that he had taken such a long time of organizing on his desk.

He face-palmed.

"What's wrong, Reevey? Are you mad at me or something?" Yuffie asked, an innocent smirk on her face.

"No, Yuffie. I was just thinking about all the work I still have to finish," he sighed. "I may be here all night."

Yuffie crossed her arms. "Well, you deserve it for not letting me go on this mission alone, ya know!"

Reeve laughed, leaning back on his chair as he observed Yuffie. "So that means you've agreed to going on the mission now? I knew you'd come around."

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Wait…I never said---REEVE!" She charged forward, and just as she was about to pounce on top of her unsuspecting prey, Reeve's office door opened with a loud creak and someone cleared their throat.

XxXxX

"Am I…interrupting something?" Cloud Strife entered Reeve's office, calmly shutting the door behind him.

Yuffie screamed, "Yes!" just as Reeve quickly said, "No."

Cloud quirked a brow and took a few steps closer to the two former members of Avalanche. "I'm here for the mission debrief, Reeve."

"Yes, of course," Reeve said as he slowly stood up from his comfortable office chair. "Thank you again for agreeing to do this mission. And you're right on time, Cloud. As always."

Cloud crossed his arms, glancing between the ninja and the WRO leader. Yuffie looked really pissed off about something, and Reeve looked…worried…and a bit nervous. Was Cloud imagining that?

"Well, Cloud, I suppose I should start by saying that you are actually going to be accompanied on this mission," Reeve explained, his face dead serious.

"What?" Cloud asked, uncrossing his arms. "I work alone."

"That's what I said, too!" Yuffie interjected angrily, giving Reeve an evil glare. "I work alone!"

Cloud's brow furrowed as he spared the upset ninja a glance. "…what do you have to do with this, Yuffie?"

Yuffie opened her mouth to say something, but Reeve cut her off. "She's your partner. I have assigned the both of you to carry out this mission for the WRO. I hope that's alright with you."

Cloud glanced at Yuffie again - she was still staring at Reeve with a glare that could make even the toughest of warriors run away crying - before looking back at Reeve. "Whatever. I don't have a problem with it. Just give us the debrief," he said.

Yuffie's jaw dropped. "You mean…you don't care that you have to work with me? You said you liked to work alone!" Cloud noticed that she looked really surprised. Was it honestly that surprising for him to agree to something like this?

"Why would it matter now, anyway?" Cloud countered calmly. "He obviously picked you to work with me for a reason."

Yuffie blushed as she broke eye contact with him.

"You're right, Cloud," Reeve added with a nod. "This mission that I will be sending you two on…it will require both stealth and brute strength. You both possess qualities that I believe would complement each other quite nicely on the job, actually." He paused for a moment, letting the two Avalanchers soak in his compliment. He chuckled. "The ninja and the warrior. I think I like the sound of that." He paused again, this time for an even longer period of time.

"Okay, so get to the point!" Yuffie groaned after Reeve's brief pause turned into an awkward silence. "Tell us where the hell we're going and what we're going to be doing," she demanded.

Cloud spared her another glance, obviously impressed by the way the ninja never lost her ability to say what was on her mind, regardless of the situation. On their journey to defeat Sephiroth…he had always admired that quality in her. She would be the first one to say what was on everybody's mind when no one else would have the gall to actually say it out loud.

And the more he thought about it, the more Cloud realized that Yuffie really hadn't changed all that much in the past five years. He remembered meeting her as a scrawny sixteen year old girl with a huge and deadly weapon, and an even bigger mouth to boot.

She still had that dangerous weapon, he was sure. And she definitely still had that mouth of hers.

The only difference now, he thought…was that she didn't look like a girl anymore, even if she sometimes acted like it. She was…twenty-one years old. A woman. It was obvious that her features had a softer, more toned look to them. Even her posture had a more confident and mature aura about it.

Cloud shook his head to clear his mixed up thoughts. "Yeah, Reeve. You said this mission was going to be simple," he said. "Go ahead and explain the specifics."

Reeve sighed, scratching his goatee again. "Yes, well…alright." He turned around to take a seat in his comfy chair again. It was very tiring dealing with an emotionless warrior and a feisty ninja princess all at the same time. "You two will be going to Dera, the newly established city a couple hundred miles east of Junon. It's actually the halfway marker between Junon and Fort Condor-"

"Enough with the frickin' geography lesson, you nerd," Yuffie interrupted, brushing her bangs away from her face. "Get to the point!"

"My apologies," Reeve said with a hint of a smile on his face. "In Dera, there is rumored to be incredibly high numbers of monsters attacking innocent citizens. What's worse is that those monsters…are being controlled by someone."

"Interesting." Yuffie rubbed her chin in thought before her eyes brightened. She pumped her fist into the air in excitement. "This should actually be fun! This mission is way better than all those stupid ones you send me and Reno on, Reevey," she commented.

Reeve couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes that time, and so he did. "You do realize that while you are gone, you will be representing the WRO and everything it stands for, correct? The World Regenesis Organization has a primary objective of protecting the planet and the people living on it from any harm or danger that-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Yuffie yawned, waving her hand at Reeve like she was swatting away an incessant fly. "You give that same crappy speech before every single mission. We've heard it all before. Protect, heal, blah, blah, blah. We get it! We'll be sure to not make you look bad when we're out there, Reevey-boy!" Yuffie was already heading towards Reeve's office door.

"Wait, Yuffie!" Reeve tried to say something else, but Yuffie waved him away with a devious giggle before disappearing from sight. Reeve sighed, turning to the blonde warrior. "Here, Cloud. I was going to give her the map of the location, but since she doesn't seem to care right now…"

"I'll hold onto it," Cloud said, reaching his hand out to take the folded paper from Reeve's hands. "Thanks, Reeve."

"My pleasure," Reeve replied.

Cloud turned to go.

"And, Cloud?" Reeve said, standing up just as Cloud reached the door. The mercenary turned around to face the WRO leader with a questioning stare. "Thanks again for doing this. I know you still have your delivery service and everything else…but, uh…it's nice of you to join and help the WRO's cause every now and then, as well," Reeve said with a smile.

"No problem," Cloud murmured before walking out the door.

Left with no one else in the room, Reeve sighed and took a seat. "What a day," he muttered to himself. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Pulling out his PHS, he dialed the number that he had grown very accustomed to calling these past two years.

He smiled when he heard the voice on the other line.

"It's me---Yes, I just gave the two of them the mission debrief---Uh huh." Reeve spun around in his chair a few times as he nodded. He stopped suddenly. "Well, of course I gave them the map! I would never forget something as important as that---That was only one time!---Yes, I know. I'm at the WRO for a reason, you know---Oh, yes! I am sure they'll be fine. This mission shouldn't actually be that hard for anyone to take care of, especially those two---There was something else I was meaning to ask. You know everything went fine on this end, but how about over there? Did you play the innocent-loving-and-questioning friend card well?---Good! And he didn't suspect a thing?---Great!…Oh, and we're still on for dinner tomorrow night, right?" Reeve waited patiently for an answer, his right leg slightly twitching. He nearly jumped for joy when the answer he received was in the affirmative.

"Great. I will see you then. Goodbye, Tifa." He placed his PHS back in his pocket with a contented sigh.

Reeve's heart felt lighter than it had felt…well, since the last time he had talked to Tifa.

XxXxX

A/N: This idea randomly popped into my mind today while I was working on the next chapter of my Reffie story. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this yet … so some reviews would be LOVELY!! XD

If I did continue (which is looking highly probable), it would be an eventual Clouffie with a tad bit of Reeve/Tifa on the side. So, if you don't like the pairing(s) too much…um…well, don't read I guess? *shrugs*

Well, okeydokey! Press the review button and tell me what you thought! I'm dying for some feedback here!!!! Tell me you want me to continue this and I will! You just gotta review first. ;D