- The Taste of Chemicals -

I hardly slept at all, and by the time the faint dawn light crept around the window shades, I simply gave up trying and instead showered and dressed, then made my way back out towards that storage shed. The masked militants from the previous night were gone, and I grabbed a coffee on the way, moving alongside a smattering of early morning commuters as they rushed down the sidewalks. Nobody paid me any attention, though I did make sure to take my first mako of the day before leaving the apartment. Blending in was crucial, and that meant adhering to these new local "laws".

The shed in the daylight seemed far more dilapidated and sinister. There was no darkness to hide the immense state of disrepair. I was surprised the whole thing hadn't collapsed already or been torn down. Within, the blood stains on the floor were mostly cleaned away and a different associate stood over the trapdoor. He greeted me and instantly moved away, allowing me access.

Down I went, back into the depths of all the trouble in Wutai. Except Yuffie was still hanging from the back wall, still bloody and now unconscious. Fleeting terror gripped me tight as I thought she was actually dead, but once I noticed her breathing I relaxed. And anger set in. They were supposed to keep her comfortable. Food, water, whatever. Those had been my specific requests and clearly none of that had happened.

"Yuffie…" I called to her but there was no response.

This was not how things were supposed to go. Unhappily, I moved next to her and gently wrapped one arm around her waist, supporting her weight, then I lifted her up until the restraints cleared the top of deep metal hook. She was so much thinner than I remembered. Lighter too. I placed her down against the base of the wall with her bound hands in her lap and her head sagging to one side. A sticky dark smear of blood had imprinted against my fresh shirt from her, and I sighed regrettably.

There wasn't much I could do about my clothing, but I could at least stop her bleeding. Withdrawing the restore materia from my pocket, I held it tight in my palm and activated it. The pull of materia always felt the same, within me the real Mako infused seemed to brighten or pulse, like a heartbeat. A single rhythm in sync with my casting. And a brilliant arc of deep green illuminated the air in a dusty trail around her body, sealing the wounds and healing the bruises.

But something went wrong.

When the spell completed, an awful nausea kicked back into my stomach, igniting upwards like lightning through my spine. Hot pain spread from the base of my skull, and the taste of chemicals burned into my mouth. I doubled over, completely unprepared for such a reaction. It didn't make sense. I'd used materia countless times in the past without issue. I stared down at the little orb, and it dawned on me that this was your materia. The one meant for you. My piece of light. Maybe I couldn't use it. Maybe I had no right to be using it and it was punishing me. Refusing my utility of it.

Then it was gone. The sensation disappeared, and I straightened hesitantly.

"What the hell…" I breathed out. Everything was fine. Back to normal.

Yuffie suddenly snapped to life. With a gasp, she jolted awake and bounced to her feet, pressing back against the wall, hands raised together in defense.

"Relax," I raised my hands to show her I meant no harm, "It's just me. Nobody else."

"Why are you here? What are you doing with that?" she spat sourly, noticing the materia in my hand. Then she realized her physical state had been repaired and nodded briskly at me. "Aha, I see. Trying to prove you aren't an awful human being, after all?"

I wanted to say something witty or clever, but nothing came to mind.

"So is this the part where you say you're sorry?" she asked maliciously, "Because you should be."

I ignored her. She was fine now, wouldn't bleed out, so I just had to make a phone call to make sure someone brought her basic necessities to keep her alive while her father, hopefully, made a quick decision about his daughter's life. I hadn't really thought of how to handle the possibility that Godo would call my bluff and then I'd be forced to make good on my threat. Her life shouldn't have mattered to me. I'd moved beyond valuing any certain individuals above others, and logically I knew that Godo's military would adversely affect far more lives if they were able to disrupt the mako supply. Yet somehow the idea of dismembering her made me feel sick.

"Someone will bring you food and water and whatever else you need to be comfortable. A change of clothing, I imagine. But you'll stay down here until we hear from Godo, which I suspect will be very soon," I said to her, then I turned and headed back towards the stairs.

She ran up to me and grabbed my arm with her bound hands. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, that's it?"

I paused and faced her. Frantic brown eyes searched mine.

"That's all you have to say to me?" She sounded hurt, no longer vicious, and her hands gripped me tightly, pulled me towards her. She didn't want me to go. There was so much unsaid between us, and I knew it, but I didn't have the strength to discuss anything with her. It was just too much.

I peeled her fingers off my arms. "I'll ensure you aren't harmed again," I added, and resumed departing.

She stood there, in the center of the aisles of broken decaying boxes, under the harsh yellow wired bulbs tacked into the ceiling, and watched me. Even after she'd been healed, she was still a sorry sight, with big dark eyes and an expression like I'd just crushed her world. I knew it was an act.

Just as I reached the stairwell, she called out to me one last time.

"Is this why Tifa asked you to leave?"

I'm sure she felt brave saying it, expecting some cataclysmic reaction from me at the mention of your name, but truthfully it did nothing. I kept you around me all the time. Nothing could trigger you more or less, and so I kept walking.

"She asked you to go because she saw this in you, didn't she?" Yuffie went on, more in curiosity than spite, "She must've seen it all right there, bubbling under the surface. It must've not been that far down for you to fall this quick without her."

I didn't give her the pleasure of a response. It would've only opened up more doors to conversation and there was no point in that. Reaching the trapdoor, I emerged once more into the daylight realm and locked the door shut beneath me.

Then I got on my phone. The supplier picked up on the second ring.

"I thought I made myself very clear," I enunciated, "She was to be kept in good health until we heard from Godo."

"Apologies, boss," the supplier said in her usual quiet voice, "I had asked an associate last night who was supposed to take care of it."

"I don't care. Just get it done."

"Yes, sir."

I hung up. The associate guarding the trapdoor was staring at me.

"Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." I pointed down towards the cellar.

"Of course, boss."

I exhaled in an attempt to settle my anger. I wished I could just go back to Junon, but now it seemed I really couldn't leave Yuffie unattended for more than a few hours so I'd have to stay in the city until at least she was returned to her father and this whole mess could be behind us.

In the meantime, I wanted more intel on the masked militants. I zipped-up my jacket to cover her blood on my shirt then went back out into the street.

The morning sky was ebbing from a pasty white to a creamy blue as I walked into the more lively commercial district. Tourism remained a top lure of Wutai, given the majesty of the nearby mountains and historic carved statues, but once mako production picked up its pace, wealthy dealers and suppliers suddenly had money to burn, and many more businesses moved in.

The troops with the military-grade rifles were not to be found in the daylight, but there were several uniformed men with oversized shurikens on their backs milling throughout town, each with that same leviathan patch on their arms. Godo either had a daytime version of his nightmare squad or he was already taking our threat seriously.

Choosing a busy cafe near the central square, I sat at a corner table sipping coffee and eating breakfast, listening and watching everyone around me. The best way to get information and read the pulse of a place was through observation and rumors. I'd picked up a local newspaper to idly leaf through during my reconnaissance, and the headlines failed to mention anything of interest. Not even mako or the new military, which I found surprising.

The transient nature of the patrons kept the nearest tables fresh with new conversations every fifteen minutes or so, but I'd been in the cafe about two hours and on my third cup of coffee before I heard anything good.

"His daughter's been kidnapped, didn't you hear?" a women spoke in excitement to the man beside her.

"No, she's just run off," the man replied, "Her heart's never been in Wutai, you know that. She leaves whenever she fancies."

"Well, I heard this time it wasn't just some prank she's pulling on him. This time she's really gotten into some trouble."

"Doubt it. Probably has to do with that new division he's put together. He put her in charge of it, and now she's disappeared! I'm telling you, she just doesn't want the responsibility. Never has. Never will."

So Yuffie was in command of the new troops, which made sense given the relationship with the WRO. And it put me in a worst position knowing that she'd probably also been involved with the explicit decision to outlaw mako or at least to begin culling the streets of junkies. My supplier had been right to take Yuffie out of the equation fast. She was more involved and seemingly more dangerous than I thought.

Time passed and soon it was early afternoon. I switched to a new cafe, down a couple blocks and around the next avenue, and sat again listening. People spoke of the militants and mentioned mako many times, it seemed Wutai was still a hotbed of addicts, but nothing I didn't already know came up. I absentmindedly toyed with the silver ring in my pocket.

Another hour went by and I decided to check in on Yuffie again, make sure she at least was given something to eat. When I reached the same little half-collapsing storage room, the door hung open. A bad sign.

Rushing in, I discovered two associates lying on the floor. One had been disemboweled and lay in a pool of his own blood. The other was nearly dead, breathing shallowly, with a deep thin slice just under his throat, barely missing its lethal mark. He was missing his weapon, which meant it had been forcibly removed then used against him. Adrenaline pumped through me.

The trapdoor was open. I dashed downstairs, but it was much too late. The basement was empty. Yuffie was gone.

"Shit!" I slammed my fist against the wall then rushed back to the dying man. Kneeling next to him, I tried my best to get his focus. "Tell me what happened," I implored, "When did she escape?"

He muttered a few useless words then seemed to finally notice me. "B-b-boss… She was...strong. She'd...recovered somehow. I-I-I didn't...There was…"

"When?"

He sputtered incoherently, then said nothing more. His head dropped and he was gone. The silence that followed was unbearable. And suddenly I had a very big problem on my hands. Not only was Yuffie no longer in my control, but I'd specifically threatened her father with her death, which meant he would surely retaliate now that she was safe, using this as ammunition in his fight against mako, and worst of all, she was able to escape because of me. I'd healed her. The two dead associates were a direct result of that. I couldn't get around that.

I called the supplier and explained everything to her. She wasn't happy of course, but she didn't outright say that my plan had failed and that I'd underestimated our prisoner.

"Lay low for a little bit," I told her, "Things are likely going to run hot for a while so move production out of Wutai. Go to North Corel. Come to Junon if you can."

"What you ask is impossible," she said, barely concealing her disgust, "It's a delicate process that cannot just be up and moved at a whim. Sir."

"Fine, then stay here," I replied in frustration, "But lay low. I can't lose anyone else right now."

There was a long pause. She wasn't happy with this tactic. "...Yes, boss."

"I'm going back to Junon for now, but I'll contact you again soon."

"Yes, boss."

I hung up and sighed. I had to get out of the city. Now that Yuffie was free and she knew I was involved, it was no longer safe for me. Though I suspected that Yuffie herself would never truly hurt me, otherwise she would've tried to escape the moment I'd patched her up, fighting me instead of my men, I wasn't so sure about her father or anyone else involved.

A part of me wanted to strike back hard and fast, go directly to his palace and show him exactly who he was fucking with, but then I'd have to face Yuffie and once again the idea of hurting her just didn't sit right with me. No, I needed to reassess.

I made one more call for a clean-up, then booked the next airship home.