Chapter 7: Tipping the Balance
The docks of Northern Wutai got closer into view as the ferry sounded off its horn once again. Sayuna could see the dock's barrenness from where she sat on the boat. Everything was just so empty and still. It seemed so serene and untouched, but at the same time it was eerie.
Sayuna looked over to the silver haired General beside her who was also taking in the surroundings, his sparkling eyes purposefully scouring the docks. His eyes seemed to be following something and she instinctively started to trace his gaze. She couldn't see anything at first, but soon a moving speck came into view traveling up toward the dock. It was obviously a vehicle, but how Sephiroth managed to see it before it became a speck was beyond her, then again he did have mako enhanced vision after all.
Breaking his gaze at the truck, Sephiroth stood up and looked at her and she stood up too alongside him. Sayuna eyed the speck of a vehicle a little longer before she looked at him curiously. Sephiroth read her expression and responded accordingly.
"They will be our escort to the resistance force base in Northern Wutai" he informed, "I'll have to conduct an investigation there first so I can better understand what we're dealing with". Sayuna nodded but in confirmation of hearing him but not in comprehension of it, but by time she turned to say something Sephiroth was already walking away and she had to do a little sprint to catch up to him.
"Uh sir" she called behind him, getting him to stop and face her. "You won't need me at the base right?" she stammered in slight anxiety. "I mean…uh I know that most of them at the base don't speak Wutainese anyway so I was just wondering" she fixed as carefully as possible. She didn't want to seem like she was already protesting about her job. Sephiroth studied her in silent consideration.
"Perhaps not" he said in monotone before pausing, "However I may have use for you there but until I get there I won't know, so unless I see reason to instruct you otherwise I'll keep you on hand" he deemed firmly through narrowed eyes that just screamed "Do you have a problem with that?"
Sayuna nodded slowly in compliance being that he gave no space for anything else, at the rate she was going she was already losing his confidence, and that was something she knew she definitely needed. Sephiroth had turned again to leave and Sayuna felt this pounding in her chest. She couldn't let him walk away like that, not without giving him some kind of assurance, even if it was just words.
"Um sir" she called feebly, earning her another halt and a not so patient glance from the man. "I just… I" she choked and stopped to take a breath.
Damn it Sayuna, get a hold of yourself, she chided.
Sephiroth shifted his head to side glowering at her, heightening her discomfort but she managed to find some resolve.
"I just wanted to say that I'm capable of doing this, I wasn't so sure at first but I am now, and I know I've made you doubt me and for good reason, but in all honesty sir, I know that there will be things that will disturb me or maybe upset me, and I can't help that." she continued, her voice lined with new found confidence. " But I've never let that stop me from doing what I need to do and I wouldn't let anything I feel interfere with your work here, so if you give me a chance I'll make my actions speak louder than my words"
Sayuna held a breath back in her chest. Had she really just spoken like that? Well she knew had to say something, but she felt it came out cheesier than she had originally planned, and the scrutinizing glance and the accompanying silence just seemed to confirm that. Sayuna chewed her lip as she discovered yet another unnerving feature associated with this man. The silence was detaching all her nerves while he studied her, and she wondered if he was secretly determining whether he'd be able to get something back from all the time he wasted on her.
She didn't know whether to feel relieved when he smirked slightly. He broke his gaze away from her and looked down, shaking his head in what seemed to be amusement, even though he wasn't laughing. Sephiroth clasped his hands behind his back and turned on his heel partially before meeting her eyes again.
"We shall see, Miss Nishidaki" he said as he started to walk off, "We shall see".
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After about fifteen minutes the ferry had finally docked. Sayuna gathered up her luggage and waited for the rest of the group on the lower deck. The sun had begun to set and the little hints of orange and pink mixed with the lingering gray atmosphere. Sayuna absently tugged at the hem of her shorts, watching a small group of passengers leave the ferry, obviously some locals probably returning home.
It was at that moment that it struck Sayuna that the rebel group had not been as openly aggressive as she had thought and that many of the civilians were probably unaware of the rebellion, or perhaps just uninvolved. This obviously had to be the case; otherwise ShinRa would not have sent them like this, if the civilians were a cause for concern.
From past experience, Sayuna knew that in general when there was any apparent friction between clans, regular civilians did their best to stay out of it, knowing how dangerous being caught in the middle could be. However, the Shinobi were ruthless, and they often exploited locals, forcing them to comply with whatever they were trying to accomplish. Something about that was nagging at the back of her mind about it but she didn't really know anything, she hadn't even got off the boat so what possible theories could she confidently form.
She yawned a little bit and leaned her head in her hands. She felt a little tired, and she figured it was about 6 something, but she didn't have a watch to check. The loud clatter of multiple footsteps made her turn her attention behind her. Cloud and the other guys were coming down from the upper deck carrying all their gear, the General casually following behind them. When Cloud came past her, he smiled and motioned for her to follow, and they all got off the ferry and went over to the parking lot near the dock where the escort was patiently waiting.
When they reached them, a young man got out the large jeep and saluted them. Sephiroth went over to talk with him, while Cloud and the other Soldiers started to throw their things in the back. Sayuna also went to relieve herself of her things but on a whim she remembered something, and retrieved and small black box from her bag before she followed them in the jeep. There was enough room to seat eight people inside, as there were three rows of seating and an extra pull-up seat. So sticking closely to Cloud she climbed in next to him on the back row, leaving Sam no choice but to sit next to Zack, while Sephiroth joined the driver up front.
After a minute the driver pulled off and started traveling a dirt path which led deeper into the densely forested area. The sky appeared to darken because of the canopy above them and a chill developed in the air, despite the humidity. Nobody said a word as they rode; possibly entranced by the rich forest scenery outside the window. Sam had broken the silence when he started to whistle some nameless tune. Nobody seemed to care but it did bring life back into the group. Zack momentarily scowled in Sam's direction but his lips formed a sneaky little smirk and almost at the same time, Sayuna saw him flick something from his fingers that landed right on the top of Sam's head with a sharp pop.
"What the hell man" he growled, glaring at Zack and rubbing his head.
Zack didn't pay him any mind and just looked straight ahead, sighing. After a second he turned back to look at Sayuna, leaning his elbow on the back of his seat.
"So is this all familiar to you?" he asked, getting her attention. Sayuna shrugged, they were just riding through the forest. Most of northern Wutai was forested area anyhow, so nothing stood out yet.
"Well, not much yet but I know we're probably passing one of the villages now" she answered plainly. Zack furrowed his brow curiously.
"What village is that?" he asked.
"It's in the Nagano prefecture" she explained. "The closest to the river, so there are a lot of fishermen there and that prefecture is one of Wutai's main supplier's for fish and boating supplies" Sam then turned his attention to her.
"The base isn't there right?" Sam asked. Sayuna nodded.
"No, the base is further up, between Yorokobi village and the Sakariba district, which is the entertainment district" As expected, Zack grinned at hearing that.
"Well that's good to know" he observed. "Now there's something I can look forward too". Sam bristled and shot Zack an aggravated glare.
"Is fun all you think about man? You do know we're not on vacation right and that we aren't exactly welcome here" he exasperated. "Places like that could be teaming with Shinobi members" Sam added. Zack shrugged innocently.
"Look I was only saying, besides why would there be a lot of Shinobi near a ShinRa owned base devoted to crippling them? That would be strange on their part. From what I know about the Shinobi, they're elusive, cut off from the common society and they don't necessarily associate on nice terms with those outside their clan" Zack reasoned.
"Well with that reputation, don't you think spies would be harder to recognize, genius?" Sam shot back sarcastically. Zack frowned and Sayuna cut in before they had time to argue.
"Well, I think you both may be right, the Shinobi don't co-exist with the general population since they have their own society, so it probably wouldn't be so easy to detect one in public, but then again I don't think they would fit in so well either…but I don't know" she trailed off, not really wanting to talk about it.
"How much do you know about the Shinobi, Miss Nishidaki?" came a silky low voice from the front.
Well so much for not talking about it now, Sayuna thought to herself as she raised her eyes to where Sephiroth sat. He wasn't looking back, but his head was cocked to the side as he waited for a response.
"Uh, well…I uh, I uh don't really know that much about them" she mumbled nervously. (Lie) "Well, I mean I think I know as much as the average Wutainese person does. (Another lie). I know that most of the locals are sort of afraid of them because they are somewhat hostile to anybody that's not in their clan, like Zack said" she explained carefully.
"Explain hostile" Sephiroth pressed, still looking ahead.
"Well if a civilian were to get in their way somehow or go into their territory they would be killed. They've been said to kidnap people but I don't know if that's true. The worst type of aggression I've heard of against the common people is what we call Tojikomeru, It means to lock up" she continued.
"What happens?" Cloud asked, while all the others listened intently.
"Well I've only heard of it being done twice, but it's when the Shinobi unexpectedly hold up a certain area, which could be small village, or maybe even an entire prefecture. They guard the streets and confine people in their houses, possibly taking whatever they want. Whatever their purpose for doing it only they know, but they don't allow anyone to leave or come in the area, and if anyone is caught or tries to fight them they are usually killed" Sayuna took a breath, her eyes trailing momentarily to the floor.
"I remember hearing that the last time it happened the Shinobi had killed 86 people in the five hours they held up the Nakamori village one night, about 7 years ago" she finished.
"Why did they come?" Cloud asked.
"I'm not really sure about that, it was quite a while ago and the war was reaching its peak at the time" she paused. "There was a lot of tension between clans so it could have been a number of things"
Sayuna started to play with her fingers again. She had a variety of different outlets when she started to get nervous. She didn't want them to believe that she knew a lot about these issues, even though she knew they expected her to have more personal knowledge as a citizen, revealing too much or too little either way was a mistake. She glanced around the jeep at their faces, sensing their growing interest in her. Sayuna could feel them picking at her words in their heads, trying to fill in the blanks, yet it wasn't enough and she'd have to provide more somehow without them getting suspicious.
Sephiroth nearly made her yank her finger off when he suddenly turned in his seat to face her, burning holes into her with those cold demanding eyes. Something was clearly on his mind.
"Where were you during the war?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Sayuna paled a little bit, blinking unsteadily as she mulled in thought. The question caught her off guard, no matter how reasonable a question it was for him to ask. The war between ShinRa and Wutai was long and brutal, lasting a period of four years, and there was virtually none left untouched by its effect. There was no way she could just skid by that pretending to be ignorant. She thought carefully but she didn't wait to long before she answered.
"I lived in Kawanomura most of my life, which is a remote river village north of here, but near the end of the war I went to Yorokobi village" she said slowly.
"Hmm" was all Sephiroth mumbled in response and his face gave no indication of what he thought otherwise. He continued to stare at her though, stone faced as ever and Sayuna felt herself tensing up under his silent scrutiny. What was "Hmm" supposed to mean? Did that mean he believed her? Or was he just constructing a new way to dissect her to the bone? It was just impossible to know what he was thinking.
She looked away from him for a short moment and when she looked back up Sephiroth was once again facing front, staring out through the windshield. Perhaps he was thinking what she wanted him to think, one could only hope anyway. Well what she said was true, she had really lived in those places, even though she may have misplaced some very important details here and there.
Misplaced HA! Sayuna knew exactly what she was placing. Kawanomura was a very small farming village, with hardly any significant features other than the temples, and she doubted if Sephiroth even knew of it other than a dot on the map. Most of the population was just middle class traditionalists who worked all day on their land, many of them too ignorant or afraid to involve themselves in much of Wutai's politics. During the war, ShinRa barely took notice of it, other than a few abrupt searches every now and then, and the only real blow it suffered was the Emperor's drafting of the men into the war.
The cause and effect of the merciless drafting left many women alone and without a way to support themselves or their families. Thus Yorokobi village, which held the meaning of pleasure, became a compromising but sufficient place of employment for females who had found themselves in such unfortunate circumstances. Sayuna knew there was no need to explain to Sephiroth about the type of place Yorokobi was as it was common knowledge to both ShinRa and Wutainese soldiers, especially if they were looking for pleasure. So Sayuna figured to herself that she had provided him enough answer to his question, and hopefully whatever his imagination led him to believe about her role in all this would occupy him for now.
Sayuna's eyes jumped over to the driver next to him. He hadn't said a word the entire time so far but kept his gaze firmly fixed on the road. He wasn't a Wutainese native and it was obvious he came from the Resistance base since he was wearing a ShinRa uniform. It seemed odd to her that ShinRa set up a base in a section of Wutai that wasn't quite bilingual, and yet many of the recruits there did not speak Wutainese. Back at the labs, Sayuna would process many of the weapons orders that came from the base, so she knew that the facility was rather big and most likely it provided the men there everything they needed at the site so they wouldn't need to leave. She wondered if they had planned to stay there, but then again, Sephiroth had mentioned something about her finding them inconspicuous lodging. Whatever that meant, In Wutai, just about anything ShinRa related, and especially Sephiroth related was hardly inconspicuous.
Something grim started to surface from the back of her mind but she lost her trail of thought when she felt several pairs of eyes studying her. Zack, Sam and Cloud were still very interested in her story and she could tell they weren't done with her yet. She looked over to Cloud who was frowning a bit, possibly trying to figure out something.
"Well I know I'm changing the subject but…" he began, "What has the authorities done to protect the people from the Shinobi?" he asked, meeting her eyes. An indignant "Humph" came from Sephiroth, grabbing everyone's attention.
"The authorities know better than to smack the hand that supports them" he scowled, "For decades the Emperor's forces and the Shinobi have been in cahoots with each other. They've formed a mutual understanding as to their boundaries so most likely no line has been crossed as far as the Shinobi are concerned, considering the authorities do enjoy receiving favors from them" Sephiroth related languidly.
"What kind of favors?" Cloud followed up, looking to the older man. Sephiroth was still looking ahead but he brought his hand to his chin, scratching it lightly.
"The way of the Shinobi has always been discreet. Such discretion serves an Emperor well when he needs to save face among his subjects. The Shinobi have been loyal to its Emperor in the way of taking care of problems beneath the surface, and in return their way of society is protected" Sephiroth sighed and continued.
"It goes both ways. The Shinobi just don't separate themselves from the common society for some traditional purposes, because of their position with the Wutainese government they are in fact unofficially obligated to stay that way. That is why when a member of the Shinobi tries to defect from that way of life they are usually killed as traitors. They live by a very strict code and the government actually depends on the Shinobi to enforce that code for its own sake"
The three Soldiers listened attentively to the General as he spoke. Sephiroth had without doubt done his research, as most military tacticians did when it came to sizing up the opposition. During the war the Shinobi had played a large part in the efforts to defeat ShinRa, therefore it didn't surprise her at all that he knew all of this, but Sayuna felt a subtle uneasiness flitting like butterflies in her gut. All of a sudden she started to feel very claustrophobic.
She turned her attention outside the jeep's window at the swiftly passing trees. In the distance she began to make out the borders of the village up ahead. Sam had also noticed as well and a groan escaped him.
"Is that Yorokobi village?" he asked, looking back at Sayuna expectantly. Sayuna just nodded, keeping her gaze out the window.
"So the base is right through there right?" Sam followed up and she nodded again.
A little taken aback by her silence, Sam bristled and shifted to lean his head against the window. He huffed impatiently
"It's about time; I can't wait to get out of this car"
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As the jeep entered into Yorokobi village, the sun was starting to set, and the group was welcomed by the bright glow of the hanging lanterns scattered throughout the entire area of Yorokobi. Zack, who had dozed off for a minute, was pressing his face against the window trying to catch a glimpse of the first few people they had seen since they had gotten here.
The little narrow stone streets in the village were crowded with busy locals. The sounds of traditional Wutainese music and the advertising shouts of busy shopkeepers penetrated the jeep, rousing everyone's interest. On either side of the dirt path the jeep was following, gorgeous Wutainese houses were closely knit in the structure of the village, their pagoda style roofs adding a rich traditional flair and exotic tone to the surroundings. Little market stands with a variety of foods and other items stood together not too far from the residential area, as well as busy yakitori and soba noodle restaurants, all lit and open for business.
There were many women walking the streets, dressed elegantly in brightly colored kimonos. They walked with little steps, greeting others with a bow as they walked by, or buying items from the many outdoor markets. While Cloud and Sam were casually taking in the scenery, Zack was breaking his neck trying to get a look at them as they passed by, probably mentally creating a hit list, and cursing himself for not knowing a lick of Wutainese. Sayuna glanced at Sephiroth who looked very bored by the whole thing, as if he'd seen it a million times. It suddenly occurred to her that Zack and the other two guys did not know of Yorokobi's reputation as well as the General may have.
As the kimonos started to get a little shorter, everyone knew it wouldn't be long until Zack said something. He was already making little whistles and kitty growls to himself.
Zack turned to Sayuna with a sly little grin across his face and she frowned back at him, wondering what pick-up lines he would ask her to translate.
"This is a real nice little village here Miss Nishidaki" he began, "How long did you live here?" Sayuna yawned slightly.
"Only 2 years" she answered flatly. Zack nodded.
"Do you have any friends here?" he asked, his facial expression somewhere between curious and hopeful.
"No, not here" she replied darkly before staring back out the window. She shrugged a little, "Sorry Zack, I don't have those kinds of connections" she stated, smiling weakly.
Zack was beginning to work up a puppy face but Sam punched him hard in the shoulder, clearly agitated with him.
"Shut up man, she's no matchmaker, besides none of these girls here would fall for your sorry playboy act anyway" he spat smugly. Zack opened his mouth to say something but Sayuna cut him off.
"Actually it's simpler than you think to get them to fall for you, if you know how to pick them right" she announced bluntly, causing all the Soldiers to raise a curious brow. Sayuna kept her gaze out the window but kept talking, knowing she got their interest.
"Most of these women make a living off of befriending men". The three men seemed to cringe.
"You mean they're prostitutes?" Sam blurted out loudly.
"Well, no not exactly, but unofficially I guess you could say the relationship is close" she replied nonchalantly. "I say that because unlike prostitutes you'd find elsewhere, not many of them form a sexual relationship with their guests so they are more like personal hostesses for men, they typically provide sensual pleasure, not sexual, plus their services are extremely expensive so meeting them or being invited to their guest houses are a luxury pretty much reserved to the rich" she paused briefly.
"During the war it was common for men to come here just to get away for awhile before they had to go back to fighting or dying, and it only got more popular near the end of the war." Sayuna informed them. Cloud frowned and shook his head.
"I remembering hearing about these places from some older Second Class SOLDIER who went to Wutai, but the economic conditions, particularly for women, have improved a lot since then. I'm surprised it hasn't died down after all these years." he observed, watching at a pair of women conversing with some men outside. Sayuna huffed sarcastically
"Yorokobi has one of the highest income percentages in all of Wutai because of it, if anything it's become one of the most successful businesses on the planet. In fact, a lot of girls still come here to join the guest houses, since it does pay a lot, though it's not worth it"
Sayuna bit her tongue, starting to regret sharing that information with them. She had actually only said it to their benefit because they were curious. However once again she managed to work against herself, saying more than she should, and it surely wasn't helping her any to become too interesting, especially now that she was here and had very legitimate reasons to shut up and lay low. She had a good idea of what they were thinking and it was only natural that they would wonder about what she was doing living in a place like this. Zack, Cloud, and Sam all glanced back and forth at each other, each one clearly having a silent debate on whether to bring up the subject or just leave it alone. Sayuna knew the Sephiroth had overheard everything too, even though he hadn't acknowledged anything or maybe didn't care. He was impossible to read.
The jeep began to plummet into an uncomfortable silence, well at least for the guys; Sayuna didn't want to answer any more questions and the General seemed to admire it. Zack stirred his hair a little bit before turning to Sayuna again.
"Well it's almost six years since you've been here right? A lot has probably changed" he stated in an unusual tone. Sayuna couldn't tell whether he was saying it out of consideration for her or just speculation, as his voice registered a touch of concern.
"No, nothing ever changes here" she replied coldly, the harshness in her tone could have frozen the whole vehicle; even Sephiroth gave her an inquiring glance.
"Nothing" she whispered again softly to herself.
Not for me anyway
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A/N: Hey readers, Sorry it took so long to update. I had planned ahead of myself and I ended up cutting this chapter in half. I'm also going to update the previous chapters, to fix some mistakes. Anyway I'm almost done with the rest of the next chapter so if all my brains cells work with me I'll update it by the end of the day.