Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Square-Enix do. Please do not sue. Thank you.
A/N: Mighty strong language in this here chapter. You have been warned.
Personal Effects…
What Did Happen?
The day had started off well. The Highwind was in perfect working order, Cid had plenty of smokes to keep him occupied till doomsday and the Rocket Town Raiders had won. All in all it should've been a good day. However there was that small delivery to Wutai they had yet to deliver that posed a problem. One small pint sized, hyperactive problem. Yuffie to be exact.
Now the girl could be sweet and she could be rather pleasant, however as all of the former members of AVALANCHE knew, Yuffie could also be a rather large pain in the back side or 'a no good fuckin' brat' as Cid so eloquently put it. It was true that the ninja no hime could be all of those things and then some, but it was how she went about it and her methods varied from person to person… Apart from the whole trying to steal materia thing. That was pretty much the formal welcome Yuffie gave everyone.
But she did do different things to different people.
For example, With Tifa; Yuffie would try her hardest to ascertain whether Tifa's breasts were real or not by trying to cop a feel at every given opportunity. With Barret she found it great fun with to tell Marlene new words for her to repeat, even if sometimes they were words that even Cid Highwind wouldn't use. And with Cloud; Yuffie found it fascinating sitting on his bike for as long as possible before the blond threw her off, which in all honestly didn't happen as often as it probably should've done…
However with Cid it was ransom. Yuffie would find something lying around the Highwind like a spanner or the navigational system's motherboard and hold it to ransom for materia or anything else she desired at the time. Of course she never got what she asked for, instead all she did got in return was a exceedingly pissed off pilot and a string of imaginative and painful curses.
Still it was quite funny to watch; even Cid had to admit that, which was probably the only reason why he hadn't thrown the brat off of the port bow a long time ago. The girl did have some balls indeed and it almost made Cid proud. As long as everything got returned safely, then he didn't mind.
So Cid was quite prepared for what was likely to happen upon his arrival.
But then there had been rumours that a certain Demonically possessed Ex-Turk had been spotted around the Wutai area and… well hell, anything Yuffie did to Cid was nothing compared to the joy of meeting up with the one and only Vincent Valentine. Even if those meetings never really ended up the way Cid wanted.
However he hadn't of taken into account was what exactly the Brat would find to this time…
"Sir…" A static voice called from the old intercom.
"Shit, what is it Rogers? I'm kinda busy here." A lie, but damn it to hell! He had just been dreaming about the most wonderful person on the planet, with their hands down his pants, which coincidentally was where one his own rough paws were right that minute. The dream had been wonderful… All naked and sweaty and… Ahem! Needless to say, he really didn't want to be disturbed right now.
"Sir, just thought I would let you know that Wutai kid is on the deck."
A string of highly volatile and incredibly creative curses filled the channel. Rogers was just glad it wasn't directed at him.
"Fuckin' hell, got no time for this shit… well what's she got a hold of this time?" He barked.
"I don't know sir, looks like some sort of scrap of paper or something. I can't really tell. Hang on, She's demanding your immediate surrender of all your master materia… and your scarf."
"Figures, crazy bitch." He chuckled throatily, shook his head and zipped his pants up. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered. "Alright, I'm a comin'"
"Come out you old geezer or my hostage gets it!"
"Hold your fuckin' chocobo's brat, I said I was a fuckin' comin'!" Yelled over the wind and almost tripped over himself. "Now what's all this commotion yer got goin' up on here any how? What the fuck did you get a hold of this time you little thief?"
"Oh nothin' much…" She smiled all too sweetly. Before revealing what was behind her back. "Just this…"
Just then, the pilot swore his heart had stopped. There in her hands was a tattered old glossy picture of something Cid had not wanted anyone to find let alone that fuckin' brat. Something he had not seen since the first failed attempt to launch that rocket all those years ago, when he had put his dreams for space to rest, just like his dreams of…
"No, fuckin' way…" His breathe caught in the back of his throat. He thought he was seeing things. How the hell did she get a hold of that? "Sweet merciful Ancients, where in the hell did yer get that? Fuck it I don't care, just give it the hell back!"
The little thief took a step back and waved the object dangerously close to the edge of the ship.
"Nuh-uh, not until you give me what I want Chief!"
"Fuck sake's Yuffie, I ain't messin' with ya this time, now why don't you just come on over here and you give that back." He cried, trying to force the panic from his voice, but failed miserably. He could feel his palms slick with sweat.
However, true to form, Yuffie was not one to back down so easily. A trait one could call admirable, had she not of gotten a hold of something Cid couldn't bare to part with. Instead the Kunoichi just laughed that insane laugh of hers and continued on regardless.
" Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk! Just give me my materia and your scarf and this little beauty can be all yours again, which is kinda scary when you think about it. I mean, I never pegged you for the kinda guy who was into this stuff…"
Cid groaned, of the people to have found that it just had to be her?
"Yuffie I swear to every god going if you don't give that back to me within the next ten seconds I sure as hell won't be responsible for my actions. So do yourself a favour and don't make me come over there."
And as he edged closer, she too moved closer to the edge.
"Uh uh uh! One step closer Captain Highwind and it goes over board!"
"You wouldn't fuckin' dare…" Small little fingers loosened around the tatty piece of Cid Highwinds history. "Alright! Alright! Shit take my fuckin' scarf, just don't whatever the fuck you do don't…"
The young girl looked quite shocked. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
"What about my materia?" She questioned.
"OKAY! Fuck… I'll give you one of my Masters, anyone yer want, fuck, even the Venus Gospel! Just… just give it back to me okay?" Cid didn't care. He just wanted him back…
Yuffie looked slight perplexed at the sheer panicked expression on Cid's face. Cid had never backed down from anything and yet. Suddenly it dawned on her that she might have found something that perhaps she shouldn't have. I mean it didn't look all that important. Embarrassing maybe if Yuffie ever told anyone about what she had found in the Captains closet, but nothing to have a stroke over.
"Erm… you sure? You're not gonna go back on your word?"
The pilot, whose nerves were almost certainly shot by this point, almost lost it.
"FOR FUCK SAKES! No, just get yer scrawny ass over here and give me THAT back!"
It was at that point the young heiress to Wutai decided it was probably in her best interest to cut short her latest ransom. However, as tends to happen in these situations, things turned dramatically for the worst. For as Yuffie made her way towards the pilot a sudden and ill-timed gust of wind roared across the Highwind's deck and ripped the precious cargo out of the fair Ninja's hand and into the air…
Cid's heart dropped into his stomach, his throat tightened and he thought he was going to die.
It's gone… he's gone!
And when the realisation hit, that's when Cidney James Highwind well and truly blew and anyone who had even half a brain evacuated the area immediately. Poor Yuffie never knew what had hit her.
tbc...
