Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Hi babes! I have excellent news—which is completely irrelevant to the story. One of my favorite fanfic authors ever totally put this story on story alert and also this story got added to the Of Sharp Edges and Gunpowder C2, which if you don't subscribe too already, you totally should.
Also, before I continue, I would like to share that—I wrote this on my pretty new MacBook, and life is gorgeous.
On with the story!
Perhaps Not Her Finest Moment
Chapter X
By Miranda Panda-chan
She mumbled to herself, wondering how long she'd been in her small quarters. She'd tried escaping a couple of times but hadn't gotten very far. She was pretty sure her ankle was mostly healed now, whether it be from how long she'd been doing nothing but sit on the cobblestone floor trying to sleep off the weariness of life…or the elixir Vincent—no, Reeve had sent it, not Vincent, Vincent had only been the messenger, she corrected—had given her two days ago.
The old man had been interesting enough to talk to, in a degrading sort of way. He'd hated Wutai, hated the people from Wutai—but he was half Wutain. Go figure. It turned out he'd left their more traditional lifestyle for the big city life of Midgar and had fallen on his face. It's what happened to those who wanted to work for Shinra for the money, but their heart longed for its destruction.
He'd been shot this morning.
She'd made a comment about his odd idiosyncrasies and he'd laughed loudly at her, telling her a flea like her would never understand. His loud guffawing didn't cease even as the guards strode in and promptly silenced him. A gun to the forehead, BAM! The silence had deafened her. The bastards had even staged it to not get in trouble with their superiors. She was growing weary of it all, not that she hadn't been before now; however, now she was not just tired, not just feeling whiny and overworked—now she was afraid. She didn't want to die, and it was a sobering thought that followed the sight of a blood spattered wall, and she shuddered every time it came to mind.
There was no comfort for her though, not even in her own head. What little she'd gotten Vincent to believe wasn't enough to clear Wutai's name, much less her own. She'd killed for far less than this, and her would-be materia-filled hands were soaked in blood of innocent people…and she'd never have taken it all back before she joined AVALANCHE, but Vincent's trust…that was worth all the materia in the world.
Vincent was exhausted.
He'd been searching the WRO database, the old Shinra database, and the even older Shinra files, Midgar files, etc. Every piece of information he could gather, he'd read and searched for any connection, any possible relation to Wutai, Yuffie, Godo, etc. Nothing.
Not one scrap of evidence.
He'd been so sure he could prove her innocent, so sure she'd never do something this horrendous without cause, without someone or some organization pulling bigger strings than just Yuffie's. He'd been dwelling on it since this whole mess had started…and all he had to show for it was even redder eyes than he usually had.
Yuffie was looking less saintly by the minute.
He knew what came with the title of 'ninja'. She was a shinobi, a kunoichi, a killer. She was a thief and a murderer for all intents and purposes, good intentions or no. She'd stolen from him even, but who had caught her? What stranger had she forcibly taken from? She'd never been trustworthy, even though he would have laid his life in her hands. But WRO missions were a separate thing entirely, weren't they? They were a job. She'd told him once that it was her way of redeeming herself, atoning for how much blood she'd shed in the name of Wutai. He wasn't so sure she hadn't just told him something like that to make him feel better—his own eternal atonement was not much of a secret anymore. Lucrecia and the mistakes that had occurred with her and because of her were not something he ignored or forgot, nor was it something that kept secret any longer (even if he had, Yuffie would've ratted him out to anyone who asked loud enough for her to hear).
Cloud and Tifa had come up, too. They were looking through the rest of the files; Barrett was keeping Denzel and Marlene back at Seventh Heaven. They were working as relentless as he was, and still nothing.
No evidence was as good as calling her guilty to him.
Why hadn't she told him all of this? Why had she let things progress this far without telling someone? Without telling him? She knew she could trust him, just like he'd thought he could trust her…he wondered briefly if he'd ever fully trusted her at all. The incident with Don Corneo had shaken his faith in her, he knew, but had it irreparably damaged a relationship that hadn't even yet been fully formed at the time?
With Lucrecia's betrayal still burning fresh at the time, it was highly probable.
"Hey," Cloud's voice shook him from his reverie, the shuffling of papers and muttered curses alerted him to Tifa still working hard, "How's it coming over here? Any luck?"
Vincent shook his head.
"No, I'm beginning to wonder if we might've believed her too easily." Cloud stopped mid-sip from drinking whatever beverage Reeve was passing out today.
"As in you think she might still be lying to us?"
"Possibly," Cloud looked at him for a moment, mako eyes surveying the face of the ex-vessel of Chaos.
"You don't believe her." It wasn't a question. Crimson eyes widened, startled by the all too true statement.
"I have no proof." And Cloud knew that was no answer.
It wasn't that he didn't believe her, so much that it was that he didn't think she was as innocent a party as she made it seem. Cloud smirked a little though, finishing off his cup before shrugging.
"It's Yuffie, Vincent, when have you ever needed proof?" he asked before walking back toward Tifa. It was true, he had no need of proof in most cases—he was observant, and she was careless often enough. He knew when she was telling the truth, or more often was the case, when she was lying.
She had gotten herself in to this mess, though, and he was growing weary of fixing them all for her, but…
And just like that—
He began typing furiously on the keypad, fingers typing out a fast-paced rhythm that produced a wide range of beeps. The floor plan of Corel Prison lit up the screen before his eyes, every exit, every door, every measurement of each cell and room and hallway of every floor.
-he came to a decision.
The gunfire should've scared her, but when she awoke to it, she could only smile to herself. The sound of the door at the end of the hallway made her open her eyes, a bubbling hope swelling within, the unlocking clicks made her sit up. Vincent with his glowing red eyes was suddenly undoing the chains on her hands.
"Vinnie?"
"Hurry," She smiled, still a bit groggy but feeling better than she had in months.
"—knew you'd see it my way," she said, a grin in her voice.
"Don't get cocky. We're not out of here just yet."
"Psh, please, Vince—I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie! I'm not worried, I'm looking for something." In the darkness she could make it out just barely, the outline of a bigger and darker shadow in the shape of a doorway, "Aha! You hold them off for a bit, I'll be right back."
"Yuffie!" her name was almost a curse on his lips as she ran off in to the darkness to their left. Guards yelling, more gunfire—he was going to kill her himself when he got ahold of her.
"C'mon!" he growled, hearing her light and quiet footsteps. He grabbed her arm, careful even in his haste of the golden claw attached to his own hand. "What were you doing? I didn't come here for you to steal things from a prison, Yuffie."
"Like anything here is worth stealing." She gasped as they swerved around a corner, the exhilaration getting to her. "They took my materia. You didn't really think I'd leave without getting it and them back, did you?" He scoffed; she was so petty for a feared warlord. Vincent shot two more guards in the shoulder, working to kill as few men as possible. Reeve was going to piss himself when he heard about this, Vincent smirked a little. "Let's go, Yuffie."
"Right!" She said, a smile on her face as she grabbed her Conformer (which he vaguely noted she hadn't been carrying before she'd left him for that split second. She threw it forcefully, the air hissing as it cut through whatever stood in its way before hitting the wall with a thunk. She jumped, twirled, and cartwheeled to the other side of the hallway, and Vincent followed, bullets flying from every direction. She grabbed her weapon, jerking it from the wall and running after the scarlet eyed man who was quickly forcing his way through the hoards of soldiers.
And then they were outside, sirens blaring and search lights splitting the darkness that blanketed the grasslands before them, a chocobo tied up and waiting for them not too far away from their grand exit.
Vincent untied it, climbing onto it with ease before helping her on so as to sit behind him. She took a deep breath, the sweet air rushing into her lungs that had only breathed the dry, hot air of the prison.
"Hold on," and she nodded against his back, content for just a little while as she wrapped her arms around his waist and reveled in his warmth. The ride started off silent as the grave as they headed for WRO headquarters. She wondered if it was simply her imagination that he had shut her out totally, his personality biting frostily despite the heat he radiated in the cool night.
"The night seems so calm for all the ruckus we caused."
"Hn," was what he deemed a worthy response. She pondered how serene she felt just being near him. He was her partner, her comrade-in-arms, and confidante. Everything they'd been through, all the saving the world business, all the WRO missions and keeping the peace while a hundred of so angry country bumpkins unhappy with having to revert to using their own means to keep life going without mako energy fixing their every need—it'd had made it that much easier for her to see a him less as a partner and more of a…
Well, she didn't really know at this point, but something more than a mere partner. Something more than just a friend, although he was her best friend without a doubt, but more than that…she wasn't quite sure anymore. She nuzzled her head deeper into the crimson cape that separated them. It was soft from all the wear and tear, and while it smelled slightly, it was a comfort to her.
The stars shining on them, and the gentle jostling of the chocobo beneath them was something familiar, and she'd been away from things that were familiar for so long.
She momentarily wished that it would last forever, that she could be selfish and just stay with him—leave Wutai and all its crap behind her, ignore her birthright and live freely. She squeezed her eyes shut in a quiet act of rebellion against whatever Leviathan had in store for her.
Vincent stared at the grasslands in front of them, scrutinizing every shadow that dared to appear as if it was alive. He wasn't going to take chances with all the risks he'd taken tonight already. However, when he felt her press against his back, her body chilled only slightly from the night air as the sweat dried on her skin from the battle in the prison hallways, his paranoia decreased slightly. It was enough for her to shiver slightly and lean closer to him, his cape captured between them. He could feel her every breath, and he could feel his own muscles relax with the rhythm of breathing and the heartbeat he could feel steadily beating against his back. She was here, she was safe, and for this moment, there were no enemies to fight.
But he knew it wouldn't last longer than this—something would happen, some enemy would come, someone or something catastrophic and evil would be after them soon, and this moment would end. He knew, without a doubt, that he didn't want to face whatever was heading for them. Inside, he knew, that no matter what happened, things would never be as they were once. Her smile would never be as bright, the betrayal would ink into her eyes every once in awhile when she thought back, and she'd suddenly hate him for a day or two—assuming they both survived this whole ordeal, which was a stretch as this point, he'd give it that. She'd never be as pure as she'd been—being trapped in your own skin would create a permanent darkness, if it hadn't already, that would continuously make itself known for the rest of her days on a whim.
He sighed wearily as the chocobo stopped in front of HQ, the quiet peace was over—it was time to continue with their respective role as captor and captive. They walked up the stairs in silence, Yuffie's head held down for the most part with the occasional breakthrough of defiance. A few soldiers met them on their way to the elevator, but none got in with them, and for that Vincent was thankful. He didn't want the silence to break just yet,..
"So…thanks for the jailbreak, Vince. I-" the elevator doors opened, and they proceeded down the corridor in before them.
"Don't thank me just yet." He said cryptically. She looked at him warily, head whipping around to face him, all traces of slight embarrassment and awkwardness replaced with righteous fury. He simply gave her a very pointed look, before turning left, then right, right, and going down a flight of stairs through several restricted levels. Finally, they came to a familiar steel door. The Control Room had the biggest computer in the entire building, the most powerful running system within a twenty-mile radius—not that there was a lot of civilization twenty-miles outside of HQ from any direction.
She stepped over the threshold gingerly, feeling the need to flee as he followed her and the door slid shut behind him. He walked over to a large rectangular table where thick stacks of manila folders were gorged on files.
He tossed her a file folder, and slid the chair away from the massive screen of the WRO's computer (outfitted by Shalua and refined by Shelke) and nodded his head in its direction.
"Find it." She should've realized he wouldn't speak like an intelligent human being, although whether he was human had always been up in the air…
"Find what?" she asked harshly, feeling more hurt than anger as the seconds ticked by.
"Anything. Anything that will prove your innocence." She stood there flabbergasted, gaping like a fish. His eyes were sharp, though, despite his weariness.
"I'm trusting you, Yuffie," she nodded, feeling the weight of that statement sink in and knowing how heavy the burden it carried as it took rest on her shoulders and heart, "But know this—if you've betrayed us-!"
"I'm not Lucrecia, Vincent. Don't you dare think I'll act like her."
"—I'll dispatch you myself." Yuffie sniffed, suddenly losing the warm fuzzy feeling that'd been bubbling inside since Vincent had 'rescued' her. He spun on his heel, his cape making his exit all the more dramatic as his footsteps thudded against the metallic floor down the hallway. The automatic door slid shut behind him, and she could almost hear it lock in place…
…as if that'd stop her from escaping if she wanted out. It had been her job to find flaws in the system. Reeve was getting too arrogant for his own good.
She sat down, glaring at the blue computer screen filled with open files of Shinra, the WRO, and the Turks, everyone that had ever mattered.
"Stupid vampire—thinks I'm his dead girlfriend incarnate. Ugh. Whatever. He wants proof? I'll find him some damn proof." She grumbled.
It was going to be a long night.
Yuffie's eyes were bloodshot, fluttering closed against her will. She was so tired, and she still had nothing to show him. Nothing to get him back on her side once and for all. She let her head drop on to the keyboard, an alert popping up that the operation requested was unavailable with her current level of access. She let out a frustrated groan through gritted teeth.
She'd been through the Shinra files, Scarlet's and Heidegger's note, and she was currently sifting through the WRO files. She'd already found Saldin's records; it was white as the driven snow, completely clean. He'd been involved in Shinra as an infantryman, and then after its fall had been hired by Reeve…he'd retired from being a field soldier a year ago. Now he was only on the business end, in charge of weapons development and stock: the scout boy for a non-corrupt manufacturer. She scanned the information, over and over again. Nothing.
She clicked a couple times, eventually finding the supposed company Saldin had found for Reeve. The company was a non-descript, privately owned sort of business that had gone public after Shinra's fall. Nothing incredibly suspicious—quite a few businesses had started to make a profit from the public once Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo no longer held their strings. After all, with no SOLDIER program to eat up funding and products, nothing was stopping from becoming good capitalists amidst the poverty plaguing the world. She pulled up the file's coding, hoping to find something to go on, something to lead her further into the company.
"Always check the codes, Yuffie Kisaragi—if there is anything being hidden, the file will be encrypted in the code of the file."
Shelke's voice echoed in her head during the tutorials she gave as they hacked through mainframes to get information. She scrolled quickly through the numbers, letters, and symbols that made up the language that only had a general knowledge of…however she knew how to spot flaws, and she knew how to spot hidden files.
Which is what she found amidst the coding. A locked file that had an encryption code, and she'd bet materia more than one. She began typing, becoming frantic with every DENIED that flashed across the screen. She hit the table beside the keyboard, frustrated, exhausted, and in need of sleep.
She wearily pressed the button underneath the desk, waiting for the stupid vampire's deep voice to ask about her progress.
She wasn't disappointed.
"Have you found anything?"
"Possibly," she said curtly, feeling a little out of breath, "but I need Shelke to help me crack some encryption codes and possibly some firewalls, too."
"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.
"YES! Go wake her up, will ya? Now, Vince!" Now she was more than frustrated, leave it to Vince remind her at three AM that Shelke was his favorite Tsviet/killer turne good girl.
Leviathan , she needed sleep…
The door opened suddenly, revealing a wide-awake ten-year-old (In appearance only, Shelke always reminded) girl.
"Yuffie Kisaragi, you called for me"
"Yes! Get through these encryption codes for me, will ya? I will love you forever if you do!... or I just won't steal anything from you for a two weeks."
"I will see what I can do," she said slowly, nodding before heading toward Yuffie's now un-occupied chair. She sat down, and Yuffie felt her head nod before her eyes closed again of their own accord. She leaned against the metal wall, wishing she'd probably warmer clothes for this. She yawned, laying down beside the door as the sound of typing reached her ears, and sleep overcame her.
A/N: OMG! This took forever to write. I was going good and then BAM! I wasn't. But I got it done! And it's longer than last time's, so I hope you're all happier (Turns out I lied, I got absolutely nothing done on anything else between now and the last time I updated.) Please Review!
Panda out.