Thanks Akai-Kuu for Beta-ing
Disclaimer: FF7 can never be mine. Chapter 2 will be written if someone decides to review
Chapter One
It was early afternoon in the Wutai café, and business was running low. It had been a year since the Meteor threatened to hit, but a bunch of warriors had managed to halt it. Since the planet was still replenishing and restructuring, tourists did not come as many as they used to, and Yulai, the café owner mourned of this everyday. People would rather use their money to rebuild and strengthen their lives and nobody could be blamed for it.
Except for Sephiroth.
He heard the door being pushed, and a young lady clad in her usual deep green blouse and white shorts strode in, yawning and stretching lazily, some sleek strands of hair fell down to cover a little of her porcelain forehead.
"Good morning, Yuffie. Had a rough night?" he greeted, and the girl the lifted her brows and smirked.
"Trainin' in the Pagoda as usual. You know that kid of Pagoda's first floor - Shake? He just can't get enough of my Oritsuru." She answered, before sitting on the green-painted chair, placing her chin on her fists, which rested on the wooden counter.
"I'm hungry Yulai. What do you serve for breakfast?"
"Well, young lady, it's almost noon, so I'm preparing lunch. Would you come in half an hour? Lunch set would be ready by then. By the way, how old are you now? 17? 18? You should be learning to cook by now, don't you think?" the man answered, wiping up some plates and placed it carefully in a rack behind him.
"Cook? Ugh. That stuff is for wimps. Look on the bright side. Since I'm paying for my meals- you get to pay for you meals in return. That's good, eh?" She smiled annoyingly. Yulai shook his head.
"Whatever. Come back in half an hour, okay?"
"Yeah, I will." She said before heading towards the exit.
Yuffie thought of what she was going to do that day. In two weeks, Cloud would fetch her to Midgar, both he and Aeris. They were going to make her the Maid of Honor for their wedding. She was looking forward to it, as Cloud had promised to award her some cool materia - they were all the mastered ones. He would not need them as he held the Master Summon, Master Magic and Master Command, which they acquired from the old traveler in Kalm after defeating the Weapons.
And even if he had not promised the Materia, she would have come to Midgar because they were her friends.
It was just that there was not much for her to do in Wutai now, except training in the Pagoda - and after several months, it was getting stale. She missed the days of fighting alongside Cloud and the others and traveling all over the world in order to save the Planet.
Honestly, even if she didn't get any materia in the end.
She smiled exuberantly, and as she exited, a figure bumped into her, making her fell flat on her bottom on the floor.
"Hey!" She shouted, looked up at the familiar redhead dressed in deep-blue suit and sunglasses resting on his forehead, grinning ridiculously at her fallen state.
"You gotta watch where you headin', Kiddo…" she heard him comment, inhaling his cigarette deeply and blew the smoke with a certain poise.
"You are the one who should watch it. You know who I am?" She shot back, slowly getting up and patting her bottom to ease the slight pain she was feeling, and the redhead smiled slyly.
"You're one of Cloud's companions." A blonde woman suddenly walked past her, brushing her hair as always.
"But I can't remember your name." She added.
"It's Yuffie!"
"Can we get our lunch now? I'm hungry." A tall, bald man trod in past the redhead, clamping his abdomen.
Yuffie was simply annoyed by their matter-of-fact manner. She rushed out and hit the bald man, who didn't even budge.
"She's a fiery one - like someone I know." The redhead commented, before joining his friends sitting around a table.
The blonde lady made a face, but he ignored her, casually adjusting his seat.
"Rude, let's order." He suggested.
Yulai came towards them.
"Three lunch sets, and a jelly ice-cream cup." Rude ordered, looking around the café before his gaze fell on the puzzled looks of his associates.
"It's been a while, don't you think?" He said by way of an excuse, before placing his palm to support his chin.
"Yeah. Might as well ask for free toys while you're at it." Redhead commented.
"Lunch sets in half an hour," Yulai said, moving towards his kitchen.
"Take your time, and it better be good." Rude added.
"I don't understand it. Why didn't we come to Costa del Sol? We could be bathing under the sun right now and enjoying Piña Coladas. But you guys want to be here in this Wutai of a town in an autonomous continent in the middle of nowhere…" the blonde babbled.
"Costa is nothin' compared to this town - where else would you find a place as unique as this? Its ethnicity and peculiarity. Costa is packed, and the last place I wanna go is a place of the masses, Elena…Right, Rude?"
"But Reno, came here last time - there's only a restricted Pagoda and a dumb brick statue…"Elena continued.
"Hush…you don't want this café owner to hear that. They'll go mad if you ever offend their statue like that…" Rude intervened, looking at Yulai who was preoccupied with his cooking.
"Sorry…" Elena replied in a toned-down voice.
"Anyways, why don't you admit, Elena, that you'd rather be in Midgar right now, to be close to…let's say…Tseng?" Reno asked nonchalantly.
Elena's visage was taking on a flustered shade of red.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothin'." Reno said, smiling.
Elena sighed sharply.
"Remember last year? We were on vacation here, and whom did we encounter? If it wasn't Cloud and his bunch of terrorists." Rude intervened again, trying to change the topic.
Last time was different, Reno thought. Shinra still existed; now Reeve had taken over the Shinra and the Turks were now assigned for community service- in helping people recover from last year's trauma.
"Yeah. They were havin' a problem with the kid I just hit. She stole all their materia." Reno added, beginning to reach his electro-rod, slowly tracing the slots on it, suddenly realizing something.
"Guys?"
"Aww…that kid stole all of our materia!" Elena shouted, standing up, looking down at the weapon in her hands.
"Mine isn't with me either…" Rude replied, inspecting his gloves.
"That's it! I'm gonna -"
"Elena. I'll take care of it." Reno stopped her.
"No Elena. Let Reno take care of it. We'll just have our lunch okay?" Rude held Elena's wrist. The blonde forcedly sat on the chair.
"Don't worry; I'll get our materia back." Reno said, standing up and headed towards the exit.
"What about your lunch, Reno?" Rude asked, but Reno already disappeared, leaving him contemplating.
'Okay. I'll baby-sit Elena.'
Yuffie panted hurriedly, trying to stabilize her breath. She had to run all the way here, to outstretched palm of the Da-Chao statue, which reminded her a lot of a gross old man named Don Corneo.
To that day, that man still gave her nightmares.
Holding her plundered Materia, she examined them carefully - no summon materia, just a few support materia and curative materia, all mastered,
"Whoohoo…what priceless materia!" She said giggling, kissing them as if they were priceless gemstones.
'I'd better hide this in a safe place.' Yuffie thought, slipping them into her neckline and she felt them slid farther into her blouse.
She was about to stand, when a voice greeted her.
"Where do ya think you headin' with our Materia, thief?"
Yuffie turned to see the redhead Turk, standing with his shiny Rod rested on his shoulder - in a magnificent posture by Yuffie's judgment.
"What materia?" Yuffie asked deliberately, while her wild eyes wandered for an exit.
"The ones you took from us just now. Why don't ya hand them materias to me now and I'll pretend nothin' happened…" He said in a disturbingly calm voice.
"No way! They're mine now!" Yuffie said laughing.
"An' there's no way I'm givin' them back to you. Send my sweetest regards to the Blondie!" She added, before leaping onto a ledge above her and disappeared from sight.
Reno watched her with amusement.
"You know as well that this means war…" he uttered, throwing what was left of his cigarette away and exiting the Da-Chao palm.
Yuffie curled herself in the narrow space beside her bookshelf in her room, hoping that the Turk had not noticed where she went. It was like old times, playing hide and seek, only this time it was more fun because it was a sort of revenge on the Turks.
But she heard the door being flipped open, and knew instantly that redhead had found her.
She figured if she fled fast enough he would miss her, and when she sensed his physique drawing near, she hastily jumped towards the door.
But to her surprise his hand managed to catch her left ankle, and she fell face down on her mattress.
"Gotcha."
Yuffie tried to wrench her ankle free, but the Turk possessed some strength. She wriggled like a worm on the mattress, and she could see that he was smiling as he watched her.
"Let GO of my leg, you moron!" She shouted.
"Not until you give me back the materia…" Reno responded composed, but strictly.
"Don't know where they are!"
"In your blouse. Give it to me… Or I'll - "
"Arrghhhh…help me I'm being molested! Arghh! Help! Murff - "
"Shu'up!" Reno said, his palm now covering her mouth.
"Kid, you're really messin' with my patience." He retorted, and removed his palm.
"I'm gonna scream if you dare put your hands - "
"I won't do that to a kid…"
"I'm not a kid! You psycho!"
Reno sighed.
"Give the materia, and I'll leave ya safe and sound…." Reno coaxed again.
"What materia?" Yuffie shot.
Reno sighed.
He then grabbed both of her ankles, and lifted her body up in the air and began to shake her.
"Hey!"
The materia she hid fell on the mattress like a bunch of marbles.
He then put her back and gathered his materia, placing some in the slots of his weapon and kept the rest inside his jacket.
"You stupid jerk! You could have broken my ankle!"
Suddenly he cast a spell at her, making her eyelids heavy.
The damned redhead had cast a sleepel on her.
'Crap!' She cursed, before darkness claimed her vision.
She felt a little dizzy when she woke up, and she was still infuriated by the stupid Turk's actions. Yuffie decided to pull some more pranks on them, when suddenly she realized it was already dark.
She grabbed her Oritsuru, and found there were no materia in its slots.
She then turned on the light, and found a note beside her.
Hey, smarty shorts - search for us in Midgar if ya want your materia back. How is it, kid…a little taste of your own medicine? Signed - a good enemy.
"Gaahhh… that's it…I'll follow ya to Kingdom Come if I have to…wait for me Reno! Cuz I'm comin' to Midgar!"
Thanks for reading and please review...:P