Blue Destiny
Sunlight filtered through the window rousing Usagi from her sleep. A confused frown passed over her face as she looked around. Beside her sat Rude without his jacket and his sunglasses perched precariously on his nose threatening to slide off at any moment. Beyond him sat Reno and Elena resting their heads against once another. For some reason, she did not remember boarding a plane. Looking out the window, Usagi tried to recall the events from the night before remembering Tseng telling her that they were leaving for Costa del Sol and then Reno and Rude had appeared in her apartment asking her if she wanted to go out somewhere. She frowned her memory getting a little fuzzy.
Usagi peeled the large jacket she assumed Rude had put on top of her and tried her best to wrap it around his sleeping form. "You're awake?" he asked startling the girl.
"Yeah. Thanks for your jacket," she replied with a frown still touching her lips.
"How are you feeling?"
"Okay," she was slightly startled that Rude was saying so many words. Although they had spent a lot of time together over the past week, she still was not used to hearing him speak so extensively.
Her senior carefully looked her over through his dark sunglasses. "You had a lot to drink last night, and you were saying some strange things."
"What did I say?" Usagi asked surprised. She certainly did not remember drinking.
Rude did not respond causing her frown to deepen. Reno was no good, the girl decided. She was confident that it was his idea to go to the bar. However, she realized that she could not put the blame entirely in the red headed Turk. She probably had not kept track of how many drinks she had during the time they were at the bar. Usagi did not press Rude further and turned her attention to the world outside her window. The ocean stretched out endlessly below in all directions with the sun rising directly outside her window. The plane had most likely turned south as it neared Costa del Sol.
"Don't tell Elena what I told you," Rude said startling her thoughts.
The blonde sent a curious look in his direction. "She didn't know you were drunk. Luckily you fell asleep before she found us."
"She couldn't smell the alcohol on me?"
The bald Turk shrugged lightly. "I sat next to you so she couldn't get a good look at you. Just don't mention anything to her."
Usagi frowned a little but nodded anyways. Silence descended once more between the two as the blonde peered out the window at the unchanging scenery. Briefly, she wondered how long she would be in the seaside resort town. Whenever SOLDIER took her to the Western Continent, she never had more than just a glance at the town before her mission whisked her away elsewhere. Except for the days when she and her friends would journey to the distant Nibelhelm beach, she rarely spent time at the beach. Even in Nibelhelm, the snow that melted from the mountains would make the water too cold for swimming or more than just daring one another to run into the crashing waves. The currents brought warm water from the Southern Islands up to Costa del Sol making it warm and the water pleasant while the Junon and Midgar received the cold water and weather from the Northern Continent.
Land appeared on the horizon as a dark smudge, and soon the peninsula not far from Costa del Sol appeared as they approached from the North. Excitement jolted through the blonde as she realized they were nearing land. She could feel Rude hovering above her shoulder to look out the window too. The plane lurched as it began its descent, and she sat back in her chair. The change had woken Elena and Reno up, and the blonde woman called to Usagi waving excitedly.
"We're going to hit the beach!" a huge grin appeared on Elena's face.
"You are not doing anything like that," Reno said sharply frowning at her.
"Why? Come on Reno it'll be fun. We'll build sandcastles and go surfing…"
"You're on duty at all times," Reno said sharply silencing her. "While you're on duty there is no frolicking on beaches. We have an image to maintain, Elena. You and Usagi have training with me."
The finality of his words made her frown as she realized that there would be no fun in the ocean town. She was about to say something to Usagi when she realized that the girl was too far away and engrossed with the world outside her window. Shrugging, Elena lost herself in her thoughts plotting a way to enjoy her time in Costa del Sol. She could hear the noises of creaking gears from the plane as it adjusted for the landing. A short time later, she could see palm trees outside, and then with one final lurch the plane touched down rumbling down the runway.
The aircraft slowly made its way across the ground to the terminal where it came to a halt with a sudden jolt. There, the pilot tossed open the door, and SOLDIERS wheeled up the stairs. Several rushed in and went down the ladder in the back to the cargo hold to retrieve their bags. The four Turks made their way down the stairs into the bright hot sunny morning. Elena frowned at the heat tugging at her collar. She would not be comfortable in this weather during their stay especially in uniform. Usagi seemed to be the making the same assessment as she dug through her pockets to find her sunglasses.
"This way, sir!" A SOLDIER said saluting to Rude. The SOLDIER 3rd class promptly took off in a trot out of the airport area and up several stairs. From there they crossed a bridge, and he stopped in front of a door. "Heidegger is waiting inside, sir."
The bald Turk ignored the energetic SOLDIER and went into the villa. There Makoto was seated at a table going over a stack of notes. "Oh, you're here," she said standing raking her hand through her messy ponytail before saluting. "Heidegger is actually still sleeping, but why don't you guys make yourselves comfortable. Coffee, maybe?" All of the Turks declined. Caffeine ran a risk of making any of them jittery which could influence any combat especially firearms where it could affect their accuracy. The brunette frowned, "I'll have the cook start up breakfast," she said and vanished.
Reno flopped down on the couch and Usagi sat down next to him leaning her head back against the cushions. She was sore from the plane ride. Rude simply stood in the corner.
"I wonder where the bathroom is," Elena said as she poked around the closed doors. She found what she was looking for, and the blonde disappeared behind the closed door.
"What the hell happened last night?" Usagi demanded turning her attention to the red head beside her and fixed a smothering glare on her superior.
"What are you talking about?" Reno asked with an agitated frown.
"Rude told me I was drunk out of my mind. What did you do to me?"
"Rude!" Reno huffed and crossed his arms scowling. "I didn't do anything to you. You decided that drinking your brain into mush would be a good idea. Thank god you didn't decide to puke everywhere."
Usagai's frown mirrored Reno's and the conversation ended as the bathroom door flung open. Elena strolled out and looked over the scene before her. Shrugging, she took a seat beside Usagi just as Makoto returned balancing a plate of a dozen muffins and a pitcher in her one hand. In the other she clutched four glasses by her fingertips and a wad of napkins. "Well I couldn't find the cook, but I just popped these in before you arrived. They're still warm."
She put the plate down on the table and laid out some napkins. "None of you wanted coffee so I found some orange juice. I hope that's okay."
No one replied, but she was not expecting one. Taking a muffin for herself, she sat down once more at the dining table and shuffled through her papers continuing what she was doing before the Turks interrupted her. The four Turks polished off the muffins with Usagi eating the majority. As she finished off her orange juice, a door flung open violently bouncing against the wall, and Heidegger walked in smoothing over his green uniform.
"Rude, Reno," he said nodding to the two in turn. He glanced at the two women. "You must be Elena," walked over to the blonde woman and shook her hand, "and you must be Usagi." He hesitated a moment looking her over carefully from head to toe and finally nodded. "Come with me," he said leading the group into the bedroom.
"You'll be staying here while in Costa del Sol," he waved vaguely to his surroundings as he took a seat. "I'll be moving upstairs into the master suite. Cloud and company left Costa del Sol yesterday afternoon. They were seen heading in the direction of the Corel Mountains giving us at least two days at the most to meet them either at the Gold Saucer or North Correl. Rude," he said handed a manila folder to the man he addressed, "you'll be leaving in an hour to deploy Cait Sith. The helicopter will be at the airport. Usagi, you're leaving Friday at four o'clock in the morning."
The blonde nodded in response. Heidegger paused once more to consider the girl sitting before him. "Are you ready for this mission?" he asked sternly.
"Yes, sir," Usagi replied immediately. A surge of confidence that she did know she had fueled her reply. "I will not disappoint you."
The general said nothing and sat back in his chair. "You're all dismissed except for Rude. Training will commence in the basement."
Without waiting for the others to leave, Heidegger began talking to the bald Turk that sat beside him opening the folder and pointing to diagrams. The three Turks stood and moved towards the exit. Once in the doorway, Usagi looked back at Rude and Heidegger deep in conversation. It was her first personal meeting with her boss, but she really did not know what to make of him. The image he had instilled in the SOLDIERS was one of a powerful man who would not hesitate to crush anyone. She was confident that he still could do whatever he wanted, but the threat seemed less important. Shrugging at her thoughts, Usagi closed the door behind her.
Outside the bedroom, SOLDIERS were piling their bags. Usagi frowned at how pitiful her small backpack looked in comparison to the other three duffel bags. It was perched precariously on top of Rude and Elena's bags.
"Well," Makoto said interrupting her thoughts. "I finally found the cook if you would all like some breakfast. Today he is serving pancakes with two sausages each and eggs however you would like. Usagi? What will you have?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Two plates of pancakes, and two cheese omelets," she replied taking a seat at the table.
The secretary nodded and continued to take the orders of the other two Turks. "Do any of you know what Rude wants?" she asked with a slight frown. No one replied, and she shrugged not concerning herself too much with the issue. She disappeared into the kitchen once again to get their food together leaving silence behind her.
"You're leaving soon," Elena said with a sigh looking at the blonde sitting across from her. "It might be a while before I get to see you again."
Usagi frowned slightly at her friend's words. Who knew how long she would be gone with AVALANCHE. Elena had been her close friend over the past five years, and the thought of possibly being gone for months did not make them very happy. "It'll be different…and strange," Usagi replied.
Their brief conversation was interrupted as Makoto quickly returned bearing plates of pancakes, eggs, and sausages. Huffing a sigh, the brunette placed the plates down on the table. "There you go. After you're done, you guys will be free until 3 when you'll commence operations training in the basement." With a bright smile, the woman placed the last plate in front of Reno. "Heidegger should be out of the bedrooms in a little so if you'd like you can explore the town."
The brunette turned but paused for a moment. "Oh, Usagi, you have a physical tomorrow morning. It'll be brief. I'll give you a schedule for tomorrow. If you'd like lunch and dinner will be served in the villa so you don't have to worry about getting food in town. I'll see you guys later."
With that she vanished down the hallway leaving the Turks alone to eat. Although Usagi had polished off most of the muffins earlier, she quickly demolished the plates of food before her. Elena and Reno ate at a more sedate pace. When the young blonde finished her food, she sat back with a hand on her stomach drinking from her glass of orange juice. "Why do I have a physical?" Usagi asked the room at large.
"For more extended missions, we want to make sure you don't keel over and die," Reno explained with a mouthful of pancakes. "Brief ones like Elena's or Rude's don't really require much physical exertion, but you'll be traveling and battling and I don't know what." He finished off his words with a wave of his hand and continued eating.
Usagi nodded pursing her lips in thought propping her head in her hand. She really did not know what to expect. In fact she did not really understand what AVALANCHE was doing except pursuing Sephiroth. With a shrug, she decided not to worry too much and figured she'll find out as she went. Over the past day she had been trying her best not to think too much about her mission because nervousness would set in making her worry. "Do you think I'll get to see you guys at all?" she asked.
Reno shrugged taking a sip of juice. "Maybe. We're using you to track Cloud and Sephiroth so I'm sure we'll cross your path every now and then. Don't expect us to be friendly and chatty. We might have to attack you every now and then."
The thought of fighting her friends did not comfort Usagi and the nervousness she was hoping to avoid began to plague her. She understood that they had to help maintain her identity, but she wasn't sure she could attack them. Her head spun as she felt conflicting interests confuse her. She was spying on her friends, but sometimes she would have to attack her fellow Turks if they encountered one another. In the end whose side was she on? She felt incredibly silly for worrying so much about morality issues. Her job was to follow orders, and she decided that was exactly what she would do. No more questions, she told herself resolutely.
The bedroom door swung open and Rude stepped out into the main dining area. Noticing the empty place at the table and the untouched plate of pancakes, he took a seat in between Usagi and Reno. The other Turks silently nodded their greeting to him. "When do you leave?" Reno asked as he swirled the syrup on his plate with an already soggy piece of pancake.
"40 minutes," Rude replied while drenching his plate in syrup.
The red head nodded and continued eating for a moment before asking, "Where are you going?"
"Gold Saucer," was the terse reply. Rude frowned. He was not particularly fond of the amusement park severely disliking the obnoxious cheery music.
"Really?" Usagi asked surprised, her eyes widening. "I've never been there."
"It's not that great," Reno said. "The people there are fucking annoying."
Usagi frowned at his harsh reply and shrugged. "I'll decide for myself if I ever go there."
"You might actually," Rude said. "Depending on where we track AVALANCHE, we'll set you up at the Gold Saucer or North Correl."
"Seriously?" the blonde replied excitedly. "I wonder if I'll have time to watch chocobo racing or play any of the games..."
With a severe look from Elena, she shut her mouth. "Usagi," her friend said seriously, "you'll be on a mission. You won't have time to fool around."
Frowning, Usagi realized Elena was right. "Oh," she said softly remembering the enormity of her mission and all the nervousness she had felt over the past several days. Its weight and the seriousness of her mission weighed down on her further. "Maybe some day we could go on vacation there," she said hopefully.
No one replied and a silence settled over the table only interrupted by the clacking of forks and knives. As soon as Rude finished eating he excused himself from the table. Nodding to each of his companions, he rifled through his duffle bag pulling out a gun and sliding it into his side holster. With that, he exited the villa. As soon as the door slammed shut, the room to the bedroom opened and Heidegger strolled into the dining area. Without acknowledging the Turks, he disappeared into the hallway soon to be replaced by Makoto rushing to the bedroom he just exited. The brunette soon emerged carrying a stack of folders and papers returning the way she came.
A couple of maids hastily descended upon to bedroom as the Turks moved to the couch. Reno sat on one end resting his head on the armrest while Elena sat on the other end. Usagi laid curled up in between both of them. Although she was certain she slept well on the plane, she felt incredibly tired. She drifted halfway between awareness and sleep like her two fellow Turks until the bedroom door flung open with the maids leaving carrying bundles of sheets. "The room's all yours," one said brightly to the Turks, but frowned immediately as they all simply stared at her.
She scuttled away as the Turks got up and went into the room. There were only three full beds in the room. "You guys are sharing," Reno said as he laid down on a bed.
"Hey!" Elena cried out putting her hands on her hips. "Why do we have to share?"
The red head shrugged. "Usagi's leaving after tomorrow so you'll have your own bed then. Besides, Rude and I are your seniors."
The blonde bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything else. She kicked off her shoes and hopped into the bed. Usagi frowned as she looked at the other two Turks resting comfortably on the beds. She had slept soundly on the plane as a result of the alcohol she had consumed beforehand. Sleep, although desired, did not call enough to lure her under the soft covers. "I think I'll go for a walk," she decided.
Reno sat up propping himself on his elbows carefully looking at the girl. "Be professional," he said sternly before flopping onto the bed once more and turning his back to her.
Nodding, Usagi stepped out of the room quietly closing the door behind her. She had no intentions of running around Costa del Sol like an idiot. Her nerves were already on edge. She would be leaving shortly to find AVALANCHE. All her pervious thoughts and doubts came crashing down on her as she stepped out of the villa into the bright morning sunshine. She wondered if Cloud would remember her and that thought plagued her as she set out for a walk along the seawall.
The soft rhythmic song of the lapping waves settled her nerves as she neared the stairs to the beach. She frowned as she remembered Reno's sharp reply to Elena's thoughts of visiting the beach, but the ocean lured her down the stairs. She found a secluded rock underneath a pier to sit in the cool shade out of the scorching sun and heat. With a soft sigh, Usagi settled onto the hard rock and propped her elbows on her knees as she stared out at the water before her. Although the beach was relatively empty still, surfers dotted the waves in their colorful swimming trunks and lovingly polished boards.
A sigh crossed the blonde's lips as she wondered when was the last time she had felt as carefree as the surfers. Although the memories of Sephiroth's destruction of Nibelhelm were still bright in her memory, everything before that seemed as though it were in a haze as though dimmed by the vividness of the flames. She remembered Tifa and Cloud very well, and how separate the friendships had been. Resting her chin in her hands, she wondered how Cloud had found Tifa and the reverse.
In her memories, she remembered them very apart. She herself had never really noticed Cloud although he perpetually spent time with Shingo since their mother's had began talking. The first time she had really seen Cloud was when she was six. Snow had come from over the ocean threatening to drown the town in a sea of white. The first few flakes had just began to fall from the sky and the cold crept into ever crevice. Usagi had just left Tifa's house to make the familiar trek across the town square to her own warm home for the evening. As she had begun to walk past the well, she looked up to look at the looming structure and was entranced by the snow.
Snow was nothing new for the winters were filled with heavy snowfall, but in the gentle lights from the cozy homes the snow became something magical. She was struck by how gentle and softly the flakes fell just gently brushing her cheeks and stared at them as though she had never seen snow before. The blonde held out her hand to catch the flakes in her pink mittens and watched as they sat in her warm hand before gently fading away.
"Usagi?" a voice called out to her.
She looked up startled and saw Cloud walking towards her. The boy had spent a lot of time around Shingo, but she had never paid much attention to him. A look of wonder passed over her face as though she were seeing him for the first time. "Are you okay?" the older boy asked.
Usagi nodded in reply. "The snow is just so pretty," she said softly.
Surprised at her words, Cloud looked around him at the white flakes drifting out of the sky. His face reflected her wonderment as if he too saw the snow for the first time in all of its quiet beauty. "Yeah…" he tilted his head to the side and looked up into the clouds somewhere far above. "It's nice."
A smile crossed Usagi's face as he agreed with her. Together they stood in silence with their hands extended to catch the snowflakes and their eyes fixed far above as the snow grew heavier. A shiver shook Usagi, and her companion immediately took notice. "Are you cold?" Cloud asked frowning. "I'll walk you home."
The spell was broken and the snow returned to being just snow. Shoving his hands in his pockets for warmth, Cloud walked beside Usagi as they made their way back to her house. He stopped just outside the reached of the light flickering brightly beside the door. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned to look back at him. The boy stood with a small frown pressed against his lips rocking back and forth on his feet as he watched her. She smiled slightly and waved with her right hand before opening the door to a wave of warmth. Her mother quickly closed the door and fussed over the young girl and her cold cheeks. The snow, the cold, and Cloud were somewhere beyond the door in another world.
-end chapter 7
So I'm not actually done writing chapter 8 so I'm breaking with my trend of finishing the next chapter before posting. I know I'm very bad with updating, but this week I have two finals and next week is actually finals week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a lot of writing done once I'm finished my finals and on spring break. I still have a lot of ideas, and when I'm walking to class or falling asleep I dream up my words.
This weekend I went to see the Distant Worlds concert in Chicago at the Rosemont Theater, which was probably the highlight of my life so far. I saw Nobuo Uematsu. He was literally 5 feet away from me at one point. I think the best moment of the concert was when he went to take his seat in the crowd and the theater gave him a standing ovation. I'll admit I cried during Liberi Fatali and The Opera was pretty much the highlight for me. I heard every song I wanted to hear including Vamo' alla Flamenco, Tina's Theme, and the Opera. I'm pretty sure I could die and be happy. There was a lot of driving, over 13 hours, but it was worth it.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this story. I know this chapter was mostly fluff, but there will be a lot of substance coming in the next few chapters. I'd love to hear your comments if you have them. This story now has the 4th most hits out of my stories under the stories beginning with w's.
Lots of love.
