……………………………………

Materia Thief

……………………………………

"Success!"

Yuffie looked up from her computer and glanced at Tifa, who was doing a little jumping dance in front of her lap-top. "What?

"I broke down Reeve's firewall. Wait til' I tell him that he needs to find a better program. He told me to try hacking it from a distance and I did it."

"You're not using one of our computers, are you?" Cloud asked as he walked out of his room, his own computer in his hands. "Yuffs, I'm sending you Valentine's file now."

Tifa shook her head in answer. "I just bought this one yesterday, strictly for use with Reeve," she replied.

"Hey, was it me, or did I hear you talking on the phone with this Zack person?" Yuffie asked, noting how Cloud's shoulders stiffened only slightly at the news.

Tifa grinned and nodded. "He's taking me out on Friday. He's a real sweetheart and I think I really like him," she said, taking a seat next to Yuffie so that they could look through the file together.

"You've only spoken to this guy once—twice now—how do you know he isn't some type of psycho?" Cloud asked, typing away on his computer.

She shrugged. "How did I know you weren't some type of psycho when I met you? You were this dork who sat alone in the back of the classroom," she countered. Yuffie just tried to refrain from laughing as the other two bickered about the guy showing interest in Tifa. She just wondered how long it would take Cloud to realize that he felt something for her cousin.

Yuffie scanned over the information on her screen and hummed. This Vincent Valentine was a real character. He was twenty-seven, he managed a multi-million gil company on his own, with no partners, he was single, and he had never been married. During his teenage years, he had been adopted by a man named Hojo, who was a scientist for Shinra, and from then Vincent had worked and taken odd jobs as a messenger boy. Years later, he had started his own business as a textile manufacturer and had grown into one of the richest men in the country, though he couldn't rival Shinra just yet. He didn't have any suspicious activities in his file and that made her suspicious of him.

"No one is that clean," Tifa murmured from next to her, reading quickly through the file as well. "Not with the empire he has constructed for himself."

Yuffie nodded. "Either we're both too cynical to see the good in people, or there's another file that is hidden somewhere where Valentine's true past is."

Cloud typed into his lap-top. "There are no top secret files or anything. He must've paid a good amount of gil to have his past erased this well. What do you want to do?"

Yuffie sighed and thought for a moment. "For now we do nothing. Unless I feel him turn into a threat, we will leave things as they are. If push does come to shove, we'll have to find a way to hack into his office computers."

Tifa smirked. "Boy, did this guy rub you the wrong way," she said in amusement.

"I don't want him rubbing me in any way," Yuffie said, eyes narrowed. "Now, about Reeve. Is he monitoring this break in his firewall?"

Tifa checked her computer and nodded. "Yeah. I don't stand a chance at copying any of his files through this hack, and after this, he'll fix any of the weaknesses in his system. This Reeve guy is a genius, I seriously doubt we'll be able to take the painting once people have left and the building is shut down."

"Maybe we'll have to do it during daylight times," Cloud offered.

"I'll slap on a mini-skirt, flirt my way through and we'll have it. All we have to do is make sure that Reeve isn't in his office and that we can somehow override his security cameras," Tifa said, standing and pacing. "I also don't think that it will be too easy. He'll have the painting well taken care of, so I'll need to have my computer with me."

"You think you can pull it off?" Cloud asked.

"Tifa in a mini-skirt can pull off anything," Yuffie said with a smirk. "Speaking of which, what are you gonna wear to your date with Zack?"

Cloud sighed in annoyance and walked off to his room. The last thing he needed was to hear his two friends launch into talking about clothes and shoes. Add to that the fact that something was bugging him about Tifa going out with this perfect stranger she knew nothing about. Maybe it was time to do an investigation of his own, he thought with an evil smirk.

…………

"Contact Godo and request a meeting with him at his office. I want us to discuss the potential benefits he will have if he decides to make our companies one instead of just partnering up."

Zack nodded and made a few notes into his notebook. "Can I ask what you have in mind? This isn't really about the company, is it? Could it be that you're looking for an excuse to see his daughter?" he asked, one eyebrow raised curiously.

Vincent looked up from his papers and smirked faintly. "She's too young for me to feel attracted to her," he replied calmly. Though some part of him realized that it was mostly a lie. Yuffie Kisaragi was a very pretty, young woman, but he was nearly ten years her senior. He was on the look out for someone a little more mature. No, his curiosity for the Kisaragi girl stemmed from the ease in which she had stolen from him, and how different she turned out to be from the spoiled brat he had imagined. Her lack of fear for him had also drawn his attention.

Zack merely shrugged and stood from his seat. "I'm going out with her friend, want me to ask a few questions?"

Vincent smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Robbing the cradle?" he asked.

"No. Tifa is twenty, and I'm twenty-three, there aren't many years between us. Now… you and Yuffie are almost ten years apart. I would call that robbing the cradle," Zack said coolly.

"Ask questions, but don't be too obvious. We don't want them to be suspicious," Vincent said.

Zack nodded and stood. "Remember that you have a meeting with Rufus Shinra after lunch."

Vincent nodded and something occurred to him. "Where is Yuffie Kisaragi's background check?"

The dark haired man sighed. "I've been doing various sweeps for her information, but nothing more glaring comes up. If you're right and she has a record, Godo went out of his way to get it erased. It's none existent," he said before he walked off towards his office.

Vincent watched him go and just sighed inwardly. He grabbed his newspaper, which was opened on the society pages and looked at the image he had been a bit surprised to see in the morning over his coffee. It was a picture of him dancing quite closely with the girl, and though he didn't think much on it, they did make a very attractive couple. The press had started rumors about him and Yuffie Kisaragi, since it was widely known that the girl would be the heiress to her father's vast fortune, and since he himself had one of the power seats in Midgar. Vincent still had a long way to go in order to stand head to head with Shinra, but he was one of the few men who had built his company from the ground up, and he hadn't inherited anything from daddy the way Rufus Shinra had. He would keep working to achieve his goal and no one would stand in his way. He picked up his phone, eyes on the image of Yuffie's narrowed eyes and he dialed a number.

"Godo? This is Vincent Valentine. Did Zack tell you about the meeting?" He waited for confirmation and nodded to himself. "Godo, make sure that your daughter is present. Why? Because there are a few things I would like to speak to her about. Yes, yes. I will see you then."

He hung up and thought about what he would really say to her. Though she didn't look it, Vincent was sure that Yuffie would have control over her father's company eventually. Godo had made his own empire, and his company would be just the boost he needed to get up to level with Shinra, maybe even to surpass them. He just had to find a way to go about it, especially when the girl seemed to loathe him on sight. No matter. There hadn't been a woman who had ever been able to resist him for long, and Yuffie Kisaragi wouldn't be the exception.

…………

After doing her morning stretches and then moving on to her agility exercises, Yuffie wondered who it was the was disturbing her training. Tifa, Cloud, and Godo knew better, but she realized that they wouldn't call her unless it was an emergency. She sighed to herself from her perch on a beam at the very top of her training room and she slid down the nearest rope. Walking over to the table by the door, she answered her cell phone when it began ringing once more. "What?" she snapped.

"Mind your tone."

"Godo? I was training, you know how I hate it when my exercises are interrupted," she said into the phone, unwrapping the black bandages from her hands. The material helped to keep her hands from chafing on the ropes she used to train.

"I do know that, daughter, but it is important for you to bring me some papers I left in my office. I need them now and there is no one else who can pick them up," Godo said impatiently.

Yuffie sighed. "Fine. You're lucky I'm using my training room in your home, old man, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered to come all the way over here. I'll be there in an hour, maybe less," she said before hanging up.

After taking a shower and dressing normally, which consisted on shorts that barely merited the name, a stomach baring shirt, and tall boots that took her a while to lace up, she walked towards her father's office and located the portfolio with Godo's papers. She sighed to herself and called Tifa so that her cousin could meet her at a fast food place for lunch.

She arrived at her father's office in record time, handing over the keys of her motorcycle to the dorky security guy at the front desk. The other security man was big and buff and very intimidating. His name was Barret and with him around, no one was stupid enough to try to start any trouble at her father's company. "Keep an eye on my baby, won't you?" she asked with a wink, smirking when the guy blushed and nodded. She took the elevator, thankful that she was alone, and was at the floor where her father's office was located in minutes. Her helmet crashed onto his desk after she stormed in and she pulled the portfolio out of the messenger bag she carried her computer in.

"Yuffie, always a pleasure in the mornings," Godo said dryly, taking the portfolio and bringing out his papers. "Have a seat. We have a meeting in five minutes with someone who requested your presence."

"What?" Yuffie asked, sitting down in a swively chair. "Who?"

"Valentine," Godo said with a smirk. "What did you do, Yuffie? He doesn't usually pursue women this way. He must like you. Now, remember what I told you at the fundraiser."

"Godo, I didn't tell you were to shove it that day because there was press and we were in public. But today—"

"Relax," her father said impatiently. "I don't know that he has interest in you that way, but he did ask for you to be in the meeting. He said he wanted to speak to you about a few things, and he didn't say what," Godo said calmly.

Yuffie gave Godo a suspicious look. "You better not be trying to go all cupid on me. I'm nowhere near ready to get married, let alone with some jerk who thinks we still live in the years when women had to obey their husbands even against their will."

Godo's phone beeped and he answered it, a smile on his face. "Thank you Vicky, show Mr. Valentine in please," he said. He turned to look at Yuffie and was appalled by how Vincent would find her, since she was wearing an outfit that was not something a proper lady would wear. But Yuffie was right. He was a doormat and he usually let her and Tifa have their way with everything. He truly was pathetic. But he had a backbone now and then. "Behave yourself," he whispered threateningly before Vincent stepped into the office.

"Godo. Thank you for seeing me today. Miss Yuffie," Vincent greeted.

"Valentine," Yuffie said, tone bored and uninterested. "Can we start this thing? I have a meeting with Tifa afterwards and I would hate to be late to lunch."

"It's the only time when she isn't late," Godo said to Vincent as they shook hands.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, taking advantage of how short her shorts really were. The boots helped in making her legs look longer, and though she was short, she knew how to use her looks to her advantage. She wasn't conceited or vain, but when a woman knew how to use her looks as a weapon, she made for a formidable enemy.

Vincent took a seat next to Yuffie and handed Godo a portfolio. "As Fair told you, I am here to discuss with you the benefits of combining our companies. It doesn't have to be now, but if we both want to rise in this city where power is everything, it would be best if you considered it," he said seriously.

Yuffie's eyes were narrowed as she looked at her father. "You can't be seriously thinking about this. Who would have majority power if the companies come together? You can't be thinking about splitting the company in half, what would be in it for you, right? Are you planning to shut out my dad and for you to remain as president of the entire thing? It's ludicrous, dad," she said, turning to her father.

Godo listened to his daughter. She did have a point. He was usually cautious about his company and Valentine's offer did seem a little too good to be true. After all, there couldn't very well be two presidents in one company, and he wasn't willing to let the other man have complete control. He had taught his daughter well. "I think it would be best if we just considered being partners while keeping our companies individual. That is all I am looking for at the moment," Godo said, noting how Yuffie flashed him a small smile and went back to looking bored.

Vincent refrained from narrowing his eyes. Hmm, inviting Yuffie to their small meeting had been a bad idea. She was too smart for her own good, and though he wasn't willing to illegally steal companies from other people, he was convinced that making his and Godo's company one would be the best chance at their power rising. All he had to do was find a way for Godo to see that he would have an equal share in it all. One of those ways was by convincing Yuffie. "Hmm. Let us set a date for a board meeting where we will sign the contracts and become partners then."

There was a knock at the door and Vicky stepped in. "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but there is a Mr. Hewley here. He says he needs your signature on some contracts. I asked him to wait in the conference room."

Godo nodded and stood. "I will return shortly. These contracts are of dire importance. You do not mind, Vincent?"

Vincent shook his head once. "Take your time," he replied calmly. Godo nodded and walked out quickly.

Yuffie picked invisible lint from her thigh high stockings, which happened to match with her boots. "What is really your interest in my father's company? Do you hunger power so much that you would steal another person's hard work?"

"I'm not talking about stealing anything," Vincent said, eyes taking in what she was wearing and the motorcycle helmet sitting on the desk. The helmet looked to be designed to look like a spray-painted ninja, complete with black mask and a shuriken in his gloved hand, along with some ninja stars sailing out of the other hand. He turned back to look at Yuffie. "This is a legitimate business offer. It's not my fault that you have trust issues and you can not see what this is really about."

Yuffie turned to him and scoffed. "Please. Like I would even bother trusting a man who works with Shinra." At the look on his face she smirked. "Did you think that you were the only one investigating potential partners?"

Vincent gave her a suspicious look. "Did your father ask you to do this?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Contrary to what you may think, my father doesn't know about every step I take. Besides, you investigate me, I investigate you. I don't know who you are, and I don't know what your intentions are with the company that has taken blood, tears, and years to become what it is now."

"I don't do anything illegally," Vincent said calmly. "Your father will have an equal share in everything that has to do with the company."

"Why do you need so much power anyway?" she asked curiously. "You have enough money—or even more—to surpass most of the people at the meeting that was held a few days ago. You should be using it for good instead of trying to take over the damned world," Yuffie said snidely. At his raised eyebrow, she sighed. "Do you really think that Midgar is going to become a better city if Shinra doesn't stop its polluting and the stealing of its resources? There are thousands of homeless people and orphaned children in the slums. You business men only worry about yourselves and you allow the world to continue to die as you gain power and money. It's disgusting."

"And what do you do to help? You have no true career and you live off of your father. How are you helping Midgar?" Vincent asked with honest interest. He wasn't about to get preached on by a spoiled rich girl who knew nothing of real life.

"I do my share, and that's all you need to know. Contrary to what you may think, I don't live my life spending my father's money," Yuffie snapped, getting up and grabbing her helmet.

"There's no need to get so defensive if I'm wrong," Vincent stated with a smirk.

Yuffie glared at him and resisted the urge to slap him. Godo walked back into the office just in time to see the look on her face and he sighed to himself. "I have to go, pops. I've heard enough nonsense to last me a lifetime," she said with a smirk.

Vincent stood to his full height and matched her smirk with his own. "I must leave as well, Godo," he said, shaking his hand. "But I will leave that report with you so that you can consider my proposal without any interruptions."

Godo nodded and watched Valentine follow his daughter out of the office. He wasn't suspicious that they had agreed to something, since the sour look on Yuffie's face was something to go by, but he no longer had any doubts that Valentine felt some type of interest in her. He sat down and smirked to himself. Maybe Yuffie would marry the man in the future. That would surely guarantee a good partnership.

Meanwhile, Yuffie stood waiting for the elevator impatiently, trying to ignore the man next to her. He had so much nerve to talk to her the way he had. Just for being a smartass, she would steal something from him. Maybe a car, or something more valuable. She sighed and tapped her foot once the both of them entered the elevator. She'd have to discuss the friggin' muzac in the elevator with her father. It didn't really help with the tension and it was utterly annoying to listen to. When the elevator finally opened, she walked out without a word and walked over to the man at the desk. "Did you take care of her?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded. "Y-yes m-miss Yuffie. No one touched it while you were with your father."

"Thanks," she said with a wink before grabbing her keys and walking off. She took the steps with quick ease and slipped a leg over her pride and joy. Cloud had been the one to do the adjustments and had built it from scratch for her as a birthday gift. To Yuffie it was better than one bought at a store and it ran far faster than any out in production at the moment. As she placed her helmet over her head, slipping the visor over her eyes, she turned to look at Vincent as he waited for his car to be brought over to him. He was watching her, eyes narrowed in thought. Yuffie saluted him with a hand covered by fingerless gloves and smirked to herself. Say goodbye to one of your possessions, she thought to herself before revving the engine and kicking up the stand.

Vincent watched her speed off and wondered just what hid behind a woman like Yuffie. She was unlike any female he had ever met, and though he didn't think he would ever feel more than curiosity and fleeting attraction towards her, he was interested on getting to know her on a deeper level. As his car was brought over and he stepped into the driver's seat, he thought about how to get the girl onto his side. Without Yuffie, Godo would never agree to the merger, and though Vincent wasn't in a rush, he needed Godo in the near future. Yuffie was the key to it all, and if that meant seducing the girl, well then he would just make the sacrifice, he thought with a smirk.

……………

"How fast can you bring up the security system of a private home?" Yuffie asked before taking a bite out of a huge cheeseburger.

Tifa shrugged as she sipped her float. "Depends on the home and what type of security it is. Who did you have in mind?"

"Valentine. He was a total ass once more and I must say that I don't like him one bit," Yuffie explained as they sat in a private booth of a diner that was famous for its hamburgers. "He requested that I be in his and Godo's mini-meeting just so that he could be a smartass. He called me a spoiled rich girl who does nothing but live off of daddy. I decided that he would pay for that by giving up a possession of his."

"You want us to break into his home? Do you even know where he lives?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie shook her head. "No, but I'm sure we can find out today. I want to see how long it takes him to see that something is missing from his home."

"What are we going to do with it afterwards?" Tifa asked curiously.

The ninja shrugged. "We'll see once we know what we're stealing. You'll come with me?"

Tifa nodded and grinned. "I have the gear in my car. Want to go from here?"

"Are we well equipped to do this now?"

"Wasn't it you who said we should always be ready for anything?" the long haired woman asked before munching on some fries.

Yuffie nodded. "All right then, I'll drive while you find his address," she said with anticipation. She couldn't wait to pull a fast one on Vincent Valentine. He wouldn't know what hit him.

……………

"Wow. Are you sure he's single?" Tifa asked as they came upon a house that resembled and ancient Wutai temple, or something of the sorts, with a more modern edge to it. The structure was beautiful, but it also screamed money as well with its design and the vast green land surrounding it. Valentine's home was located in the outskirts of the city, not too far to take him longer than an hour to get to his office, but not close enough to suffer because of the pollution and the city noise. He lived in a section of Midgar where other mansions—for lack of a better word—were located.

"The whole front and backyard have motion sensors that will go off if we try to get in there. There is a place near the west side of the place where there is an exit. That is our only way in or out. Problem is that we may be seen by his security cameras. I don't know how long we'll have if we knock them out, or if Valentine will be notified."

"We'll have to risk it. Can you hook into his system from out here, or do we have to actually get into the house to do it. It looks like he'll have some type of housekeeper or even maids taking care of a place as big as this," Yuffie said as she sat in the back of her cousin's SUV and changed into her thief gear. She slipped her gloves on and slipped on the ear piece that kept her and Tifa in touch just in case they separated.

Tifa typed away into her mini-computer and frowned. "The security system inside the house is only partly on."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if a door remains open for too long, the security company is notified and they will call or send someone over to look into it. Same if the motion sensors go off. Maybe we should come back and do this once we know a little more about the house and the system," Tifa said.

Yuffie shook her head. "If you want, I can go in by myself. You can stay out here and monitor the security system and you can warn me when I need to get out."

"It just feels like we're totally unprepared for this, especially during the daytime," Tifa said as she slipped on her boots and a pair of gloves as well.

Yuffie shook her head. "It's not like it'll be easier at night, with Valentine in the house, right?" Tifa nodded in agreement and they both stepped out of the car, which was parked a few blocks away. "How about climbing the trees? Think they have motion sensors too?"

Tifa checked her computer and shook her head. "As far as the schematics show, only the grass around it. I can try giving you a boost up, but you'll have to let me in once you're inside."

Yuffie nodded. "That's good. Let's focus on getting passed the gate and then we'll work from there," she said, slipping on her mask as they slipped through the shadows provided by the high fence around the house. "Can you loop the security cameras now?"

"Already done. Let's get in," Tifa said as they cautiously approached the gated door and peeked inside. "Move back, someone's coming," she said quietly. Yuffie and she both pulled back and almost literally sunk into the bushes of flowers right at the edge of the fence. The door opened and a woman in a neat uniform stepped out, a small smile on her face. "The door," Tifa whispered as the door began to close as the woman walked off to throw away the garbage.

Yuffie slipped in first and then Tifa followed, both not touching the door. The run towards the house was a quick and quiet one, and both slipped in through the unlocked kitchen door. "That was a little too easy for comfort," Yuffie whispered. She and Tifa dove behind the kitchen island when they heard the voices of two women, arguing about who had to clean the office and the bedrooms. The voices carried away as the women moved into the back room where the laundry room was.

"Three woman so far. I hope we don't run into any more. Where to?" Tifa asked as they slipped out of the kitchen as silent as ghosts.

Yuffie noticed the hallways that led away from the kitchen and living room and motioned to her cousin. "Inspect the bedrooms and I will see if I can find anything fancy here," she murmured, eyes taking in the modern style with very few pieces of furniture. It was a more modernized Wutain style, and Yuffie found that it suited a man like Vincent Valentine. There were pieces of art that caught her eye, but she didn't think that they would mean all that much to a man like Vincent. She needed to find something that would hit him to the core. The sound of voices once more caught her attention, and she slipped behind the heavy curtains, nearly holding her breath. "Black Rabbit, two old birds heading your way. They're the maids we heard in the kitchen."

"Roger," Tifa replied. "Rooms are clean. Paintings on the walls aren't worth stealing, though they are beautiful pieces. I doubt he wouldn't be able to purchase more without missing a beat."

"I'll be in the office, warn me if someone is approaching," Yuffie said.

"I'll be out as soon as the old birds move away. There's more to this place than what we see."

Yuffie took off quickly and opened one of the double doors of what she had deduced was his office. Her eyes scanned quickly and landed on some glass cases against the far wall of a very clean and professional looking office. It looked far more modern than Godo's and Yuffie had to stop and admire Valentine's taste so far. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the items carefully encased in glass. One was a group of ten shiny round balls, too big to be marbles, too colorful to be rocks, and too smooth to be any type of crystals. The label at the bottom read, "Ancient Materia." It also had a date that had Yuffie wondering if the things really were from the era before man.

She moved to the next items and her eyes were wide. It was a gun of beautiful craftsmanship and design. It was triple-barreled with the design of some type of vicious dog at every barrel. At the foot of it was the name, "Cerberus." Nothing more was labeled, and Yuffie stared for a moment, wondering which to take. "Black Rabbit, I need you in here. I found something we can take and that he'll surely miss."

"What's your location, White Rabbit?"

"Northeast end, coming from the living room. Room with double doors."

Within seconds, Tifa was there and with her computer out. She scanned both displays, though she noticed that there were a few others that her friend hadn't even bothered to look at and nodded. "They're clean. Which is pretty stupid, considering the fact that these are obvious collectibles. Maybe the room is wired in some way," Tifa said.

Yuffie nodded and removed her trusty glass cutter, just as she neared it to the glass, Tifa stopped her before kneeling. "There is some type of wiring running up the back of the stand. Shit. It looks like the glass is electrified or something. It'll most likely send a nasty shock through you if you touch it."

"How do we get it then?" Yuffie asked, eyes a little wide.

"Cut the power to the house," Tifa said, grinning behind her mask. "How I do love a challenge."

"Can you do it from here?" Yuffie asked, hoping that none of the maids decided to come in. She really didn't feel like hitting middle-aged ladies, today. Or any day, for that matter.

Tifa typed away and nodded. "Vincent should've thought better when designing his home with new-age technology," she said, a smirk in her voice. "Cutting power. Now."

The rooms went dark, only a few slivers of light coming through the curtains and Yuffie used the cutter on the glass, quickly removing the ancient materia and placing them all carefully into a pouch on her hip. "Should we take the gun too?"

Tifa snorted. "I don't think he's screwed you over this bad. Let the man keep his prizes. I bet he'll miss these enough," she said as they made for the windows.

"Are the motion sensors down?" Yuffie whispered.

"Yeah, let's go," Tifa replied.

They both jumped out of the office window easily, and straight to face a familiar man. Tifa nearly gasped, but refrained. "Don't move," Zack said seriously, pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number. "You should know better than to steal from Vincent Valentine."

Yuffie watched with wide eyes as Tifa moved forward and drove her fist into Zack's face before dropping low and sweeping her leg out, toppling the tall man over. Yuffie refrained from laughing and brought out a spray from her belt and using it on Zack before he could stand and fight them back. He fell back unconscious. "Let's go," she said, dragging Tifa off.

"What the hell was he doing here?" Tifa hissed as they took off at a fast run towards the high fences.

"Maybe they live together or something. Valentine said that they were friends," Yuffie replied as she gained speed and climbed the wall with an ease born from years and years of training as a ninja. Tifa did so as well, but her training came from martial arts and the likes. They were both deadly in their own ways. Jumping over to the other side, they kept running, keeping an eye on their backs in case Zack had been able to contact whoever had been on the phone. Both women just hoped that it hadn't been the police.

They ran down towards the SUV and got in, making a u-turn and speeding away. "We'll have to hack security for the entire block," Tifa panted a little as Yuffie drove. "The last thing we want is to leave breadcrumbs. They'll try to identify my car too. We won't be able to use it for a couple of months."

"We'll just take it back to Godo's collection and use a new one, he doesn't even know how many cars he has," Yuffie said with a grin, pulling off her mask once they were a good distance away. "You got into the block's security cameras?"

"Yeah. Us coming and going is now… erased," Tifa said before cracking her knuckles. "Geez, I didn't want to hurt Zack."

"Relax. He didn't even know it was you," Yuffie said with a grin. "Thanks for having my back, Teef."

"Not a word to Cloud or he'll go on and on about how we can't take care of ourselves without him. Seriously, the man needs to get a grip. We're not as defenseless as he likes to think," Tifa said impatiently. "So… what are you going to do with your prize?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Maybe I'll give it back… someday," she said with a happy, belly laugh. "For now I think I'll put them somewhere safe and enjoy my victory."

……………

Early on the following Saturday morning, Yuffie was sitting in her favorite armchair, sipping a cappuccino and flipping through the news. She wished she could've slept late into the morning, but she had been way too giddy for much sleep. Valentine had gone public on his robbery, and he had even gone as far as to offer a reward to anyone who either had information of who had robbed him, or of where his priceless possessions currently were. Yeah, like someone would report seeing the materia somewhere, that would make them suspects as well.

So she sat there and tore pieces off of her ham and cheese croissant little by little. Her computer beeped, letting her know that there was a message and she sat up. "Teef!" she shouted to her cousin, who was sleepily making herself some coffee.

"What?" Tifa asked, scratching her back as she approached her.

Yuffie pointed to her computer. "Have we ever heard of this buyer?"

Tifa pulled up a different program and typed in the buyer's alternate name. "He's purchased a painting from you before. Last year. We haven't heard from him since the heist of the painting we did in Junon. Remember when you nearly fell off of the roof because the target had pet snakes everywhere?"

Yuffie shuddered. "Yeah. Who needs to have that many snakes? That man was looking to get eaten in his sleep. Anyway, can we trust the buyer? He wants Tuesti's painting, and he also wants us to locate another one. Doesn't know where it is or who has it, but he'll pay good gil for it."

"Let's see if the painting is somewhere reachable, then we'll confirm and we'll have a date as to when we can get it," Tifa said, grabbing a plain croissant from the box at the breakfast table.

Yuffie nodded and typed a brief message before sending it to the client. She smirked in satisfaction and flipped another channel, stopping at the image of Vincent on the screen. He was threatening in that non-threatening way of his, and the woman reporting was going on and on about the recent robberies. Yuffie watched with raised eyebrows as they finally reported all the robberies she and her friends had done in the past month. "Hey Teef, they finally leaked to the press about all the other heists!"

"Do they have clues?"

"Nope! We left nothing!" Yuffie said with a whoop, Tifa cheering in her room too. Yuffie grinned to herself and paused on the image of Vincent on the screen, her eyes taking in the dark hair, short, and the slightly slanted crimson eyes. He looked very good in a dark-blue suit, but it didn't take away from the fact that he was a total jerk with her. "I'm not just a spoiled rich girl living off of daddy, and you'll find that out soon enough," she muttered to herself.

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"These have been the robberies in the past month. Each one has been precise and with no traces left behind. We are dealing with master thieves," Zack pointed out, bringing up on his computer, and it projected on the wall, each thing that had been taken and how it had been done. "A penthouse was robbed, but all that was found was a broken statue, which more than likely was an accident, and rope in the guard dog's mouth."

Vincent looked at every single robbery with a critical eye. "They come and go the same way. Through helicopter you think?"

"What else?" Zack asked. "Unless they're jumping off the roof with parachutes or something of the like. Though someone is bound to notice a parachute at one time or another. Do you think we're dealing with the same people who stole from you?"

"I have always trusted my instinct and I get the feeling that these are all the work of the same person/people. And when I think on it, Yuffie Kisaragi comes to mind," Vincent replied.

"Why?" Zack asked with a frown. He found it hard to believe that someone like Yuffie could be a master thief, even with her ninja training. She just had too much to lose if she was.

"Something she said to me when I saw her in Godo's office. She told me that she does her part in helping the city. I sincerely doubt that she runs around in a mask, fighting crime," he said sarcastically. Zack just grinned and shook his head. "Something about her is off, and I will give half of my fortune to charity if I am wrong."

"I hope you don't have to bring out the checkbook for that amount any time soon," Zack muttered. He wasn't saying that the people didn't need the help—he donated gil himself for those in need whenever he could—but Vince was talking about a very ridiculous amount of gil. "What will you do now?"

"Lay out the bait," Vincent said with a smirk, sitting back. "One way or another, I will have Yuffie Kisaragi in my hands."

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Woo! Evil Vince. How was that? Not much VinceYuffie interaction here, but that will change in the following chapter. What can Vincent possibly have in mind for our ninja thief? The plot thickens and the drama is at our doorstep. Anyway, I hope it's getting better and that everyone enjoyed, since I really liked this chapter. I want to thank everyone for reviewing the first chapter, and I would like to point out that I'm still taking votes for Zack or Cloud as Tifa's man. The triangle thing will continue for a few chapters, but will eventually have to change, so you still have time to vote! Right now I think we're tied for both guys, so break it! I know it's cheating, but my vote is kind of with Zack, mostly because I still have an obsession thing going for him—he's so hot—but change my mind peeps! Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings and I hope to update soon!

Joey