The Only Exception

Story 3 – Vincent

Chapter 14 – Wutai

At last, it seemed that Godo was ready to meet Vincent to discuss about his shipwrecked predicament. The male attendant who helped him with his yukata entered. With a polite gesture, he led Vincent to the study, where Godo and Yuffie were sitting at the couch waiting for him.

Basic questions enquiring about his bath were asked, which Vincent answered politely that he had enjoyed them. Then Godo straightened his yukata and asked, "I believe you are anxious to make some contact with the people in Midgar. However, I'm afraid that a few days ago, the communication tower was tampered with."

Vincent kept his reaction in check. "Meaning?" He asked, fearing the worst.

"It means that you will not be able to contact anybody outside Wutai until communications are fixed," said Yuffie. "We have not been able to find out who is the one behind this. I had a hard time convincing my father that it was not me," she added with a grin.

"So… no telephone, nor internet, I would guess," repeated Vincent. He refrained from criticizing the island's lack of decent infrastructure. For such a backwater place, it would be a miracle that they actually had any sort of infrastructure, even if it was decrepit. He would be stuck in this place until he could get some sort of contact. "Without any contact to Midgar, I have no documents or plans to show you." He looked at Godo. "What are my options? Could you advise me?"

Godo smiled. "If you write a letter tonight, I'll have my boys deliver it. The letter would reach Midgar within two days and your staff can prepare a new set of plans to bring over personally. Or you could take the earliest boat tomorrow morning and we can meet back here another time, preferably after my communication tower is fixed."

The hotel CEO frowned. "The only difference is whether I'm going back to Midgar personally or not." Those hardly seemed like options to Vincent.

"You could say that," said Godo with a shrug. "If you stay here, you can use the time here to look at Wutai better." He gave Vincent a cautious onceover. "My advice would be that you should stay in Wutai while your staff brings the necessary documents to you."

There, Godo did not continue, and Vincent was not going to ask him to explain further.

Maybe it was good for him to take some time away from Midgar, Vincent reckoned, like a time out for himself. Tseng and his housekeeper had been telling him to take a break for months. Vincent did his calculations. It would take approximately four days for rescue to come, at best. Four days. Just four days in this place. It was enough time for Vincent to 'get to know Wutai better', yet fast enough for him to get out of this place quickly.

Vincent had no intention to know Wutai better. He only had interests in things that would make his time work. Four days in Wutai would be too long, in his honest opinion. He should, for the sake of being in Godo's good books, take his advice. On top of that, he should not look too anxious to write his letter as well.

"I'll get down to the letter tomorrow," answered the hotel owner. "It would be a pleasure to visit Wutai as much as I can before I return to Midgar."

"Wonderful!" It was Yuffie who was talking now. "I shall bring you around Wutai! You will love this place!" She was already bouncing on the couch like a little girl.

Vincent kept his comments to himself. He could not see how a girl, hyperactive and reckless, could be a good guide and escort for him. Out of politeness, however, Vincent thanked Yuffie graciously. Yuffie rubbed her nose and was rattling on about what they could do in Wutai, but Vincent was no longer listening.

Just four days. He would get his business settled, have the hotel built in Wutai, and see the smirks get wiped off the faces of the new committee when Vincent pulled out yet another miracle in the tourism industry.

Just like how it should be.

The next day, Vincent woke up early. Knowing that Yuffie would want to accompany him, he sneaked out of her house quietly and returned to the beach alone. He was a private man by nature, not preferring to share the details of his life or his thoughts to random strangers, even if she was someone who saved his life yesterday.

The walk to the beach was less than fifteen minutes long. There were only a few paths from the village. It was not very hard, finding the beach again. When he was at the beach yesterday, he was too disoriented to notice his surroundings until they were well into the woods. Today, he was looking at the beach, shivering in the morning chill. The white glow of the sun peeked out from the horizon, slowly washing the night away. The sandy white beach stretched across a crescent, such that Vincent could barely see the ends of the beach. He stood, facing the rising sun.

It is a beautiful sunrise, he smiled to himself. Worthy of anyone's viewing pleasure. Lucrecia would have loved it here too.

Shaking that thought away, Vincent walked along the stretch, scanning around for anything or anyone that he might recognize. All he found was his old pen, which previously was clipped onto his shirt pocket. The pen clung onto the pocket like a good soldier during the storm and only fell out when Vincent reached the shores of Wutai. Vincent twisted the pen. With that much saltwater, the pen was as good as gone anyway.

Walking through the stretch of sand took an hour, back and forth. When he returned to the original spot where he came from, the sun was already up and the sky was a pale blue. Vincent sat at the sand, deep in thoughts.

Here I am, he said to himself. Shipwrecked, not a single gil in my pockets, far away from my comfortable bed and the hotel. So pathetic…

So… free.

Vincent was surprised at his choice of words, but he welcomed the idea. It will be good for me to stay away from Midgar for now. I dare say the new management would be pleased too.

The management wanted to show Vincent that they could do better without his inexperience. They were eager to show it to Vincent. These people were still older than Vincent. No doubt they were more experienced than Vincent, but experience was more than just the number of years. They certainly did not appreciate the policies that Vincent had in place, unlike the older generation of executives.

Vincent felt alone with the last few months, trying to convince the committee that everything that he had done had been sound and rational. Was it not he who brought the hotel out of the red, when they were sitting back and allowing the top management to handle it? Not a single one of them stepped forward to offer help. Heck, the way some of them complained when Vincent asked for another quarterly staff meeting…

From behind him, Vincent heard a soft crunch of sand, approaching him. He sighed, feeling his anger ebb. Looks like his time of solitude was coming to an end.

"There you are!" Yuffie's chirpy voice in the early morning was enough to silence even the seagulls squawking along the Wutai cliffs. Vincent did not turn around until Yuffie stood next to him. "My father was surprised to hear from the servants that you left early morning. He thought that you had changed your mind and taken the boat home."

Vincent shook his head to himself. "I am still here." He looked at Yuffie again.

"Well, if you're going to stay here in Wutai for the next few days, I suggest that we better start moving." Yuffie pulled Vincent's arm.

She really had absolutely no sense of personal space or social awareness, thought Vincent, though he followed her behind. However, Vincent knew that for Godo to approve of his project, the first step would likely be to indulge his daughter, Yuffie, in whatever plans she had. Vincent looked around him at the trees and foliage. Where are we going? He wondered.

As though she sensed his question, she turned around, declaring, "You are going to experience the best of Wutai!"

Yuffie was not joking when she said 'the best of Wutai'. She brought him around, showing him the sights of Wutai. The chief's daughter spared no expense in showing him everything that she could, starting from the lively markets to the temples where the villagers prayed to.

"Before the Kisaragi family took over as the chief family, Wutai used to be governed by the Kannazuki," explained Yuffie, bending over to pull out a blade of grass over the cracked stone pavements.

Vincent remembered Yuffie telling him about the twelve families that reside in Wutai. Each family name corresponded with Wutai's traditional names of the twelve months. Now, with the additional lineage of people coming from Rocket Town over the last few decades, the village expanded slightly, although the twelve families still remain as the aboriginals of Wutai.

"What happened that made the Kisaragi family become chief family?" asked Vincent,

The young woman shrugged. "Who remembers?" She sighed.

Some tour guide you are, thought Vincent in slight amusement, though he said nothing.

Without warning, Yuffie punched his arm, earning a groan from Vincent. Damn, this girl is strong. He thought, rubbing his arm and glaring at her. "You are making fun of me!" Yuffie huffed, in response to his glare.

"I did not say anything."

"But I can read your mind!" She jabbed her temples. "You were looking at me and doubting my abilities as a tour guide!" Not only were her punches strong, she had good acumen too. You should be glad that I remembered at least something! My history teacher would be so proud of me." She folded her arms with a grin.

Yuffie was quite the entertainment and liveliness herself – Vincent thought she should become a part of the sights in Wutai, together with the mountains and temples. She was cheeky and borderline hyperactive. Having a foreigner to chaperone did not stop her from getting into all sorts of trouble. She was also loud and brash. Wherever she went, people would know of her presence, hearing her before they could see her.

The people loved her.

Despite being anything but a refined, educated and sensible chief daughter, Yuffie was warm, sincere and thoughtful. Children flocked to her in the marketplace. Stallowners were not afraid to ask her to run errands for them when they needed an extra hand around. Well, not many did that after she announced that she had to bring 'the Midgar man' around Wutai. Vincent tried to keep his face neutral. He recognized that he was an outsider, but he would rather not have the attention fall on him. Besides, he was not interested in making friends with these villagers. He did, however, make an effort to interact with the people who approached him. He had to show some sort of interest after all.

The highlights of his visit were the natural spots that Yuffie brought him to. Mountains, rivers, fields of flowers… they were common in Wutai, and the villagers did nothing to minimize the presence of nature in the land. It was difficult to feign disinterest when Yuffie was dragging him away to the wild all the time. Any place in Wutai is comparable to the best looking views in Midgar. Not even Emerald Hills and its well-known night view could compete. The price to pay was an aching body. Vincent had not exercised like that in a long time.

It was the third day since Vincent came to Wutai. Yuffie must have noticed that Vincent was not of the same stamina as she was since their climb in Da Chao Mountain. Today was an easy trek down to the valley, where according to Yuffie, "a super awesome waterfall" resided at the bottom of the valley.

"So have you written the letter to Midgar already?" asked Yuffie.

"Yes, I have. Thank you for your concern."

To be honest, Vincent had clean forgotten about it until just now, while Yuffie was knocking on his door mentioning something about home. He had quickly written a letter addressed to Tseng, explaining that he was safe and that he needed Tseng's help to arrange his documents and make a trip to Wutai. "Don't be in such a hurry to come," Vincent had written in his letter. "I'm using this time to take a break as you've suggested." Though the letter and explanation was reasonable, it was not like Vincent at all. He was not ready to ask himself why.

When he saw the small but beautiful waterfall, surrounded by grey and green stone and leading to a small pool of crystal clear water, Vincent only knew that this was the place that he would not mind staying for a while longer.

"Come on!" laughed Yuffie, throwing her sling bag onto the earth. Before Vincent could react, she pulled off her tank top.

"What are you-" Vincent looked away immediately. A flush crept up his face and he focused on looking at the floor.

"Relax, Vincent! It's a bikini!" The man looked up and to his embarrassment, found that it was so. Yuffie placed her hands akimbo and looked at Vincent smugly. "What did you take me for?" She laughed. "I'm not some skanky city girl, you know."

For all her nonsense and idiocy, Yuffie never threw her weight around when it came to her reputation as the chief's daughter. Vincent can remember, more than once, situations in Midgar where some heiress of some company was offended by Vincent's aloofness and threatened his position using her father's name. Vincent made short work of their arrogance and sent a clear message to all his business associates that he was not one to be made a fool of.

"Of course you are not," answered Vincent calmly. Well, as calmly as he could. "Still, it's not wise to dress so little in front of men," he advised, straightening his shirt a little. "Aren't you cold?" Like what Yuffie said a few days ago, Wutai is not snowing, but it can get very chilly on some afternoons, even though the sun is shining brightly.

"This bit of coldness does not faze any Wutaian." Yuffie cocked her head with a snide smile. "So what is it? Are you flustered by the White Rose of Wutai's hotness?"

Vincent shook his head. He had never seen such arrogance from any girl that he had met. Not from any girl her age. Suddenly, a splash of cold water hit him. "What the-"

"If you don't come and enjoy the waterfall," warned Yuffie teasingly. "The waterfall will come after you!" She readied her hands with another scoop of water. He regarded Yuffie's nonsensical antics for a second, and shook his head. Yuffie was not going to take his 'no' for an answer. "Come on, Vincent! The water is cooling and relaxing!"

"You can enjoy yourself." He walked towards a tree that offered the best shade. "I'll just sit here," Vincent decided. "Away from that freezing water."

He heard Yuffie waddling out of the water behind him. She stood before him, water dripping off her body. Again, Vincent looked away in a gentlemanly manner. "Seriously, Vincent. You got to be here until your Midgar friends come and pick you up."

Vincent would hardly call his staff 'friends', but he made no effort to correct her. He looked at her without speaking.

Yuffie made a face. "What I'm saying is, while you are stuck here, you might as well have some fun."

The man looked at her youthful face. She must be at least ten years younger than me, he thought. Carefree, reckless and not concerned about her future. "Not everyone is your age, Yuffie," he grunted. "When you grow up, you will know."

"Hey!" She protested. "I'm twenty, I'm hardly a child anymore."

Vincent was surprised, but did not show it. Still, eight years younger. Still carefree, reckless and not concerned about her future. "If you say so," he answered politely.

He felt Yuffie stare at him for a long time but he did not need to wait long. "You know, I mean to say this a while ago, but I cannot hold back anymore," she blurted.

"I'm not stopping you." Vincent glanced at her, wondering what wonders may sprout out from her unfiltered brain.

"You are too unfriendly," She huffed, folding her arms. The white bikini creased a little under the pressure of her arms so Vincent took to looking away again. He was not uncomfortable seeing women in little clothing; hostesses, hopeful clients or their daughters often do that. However, he knew that Yuffie did not carry that intention and he could not take advantage of that. She was, after all, the daughter of a very important client.

Vincent decided to amuse her with conversation this time. "Do I?"

"You look as though everyone here owes you something. But there were times you looked a little… confused." She made a face, pondering if the choice of her words was correct.

Vincent thought that it was so. He chuckled to himself. "I think you mean to say that I was rude, not confused." Yuffie could not answer to that so she shrugged. "I'm not being rude," he said. "I guess that's just how I am, sorry."

"That's just an excuse," she huffed.

He sighed. "I'm not very good at making friends, that's what I'm trying to say."

"Well, you are really doing that very well," remarked Yuffie sarcastically with a side smile.

Her words hit him with like a shot taken too quickly. He stumbled at the words that that person once said so often. "Let me do what I do. I know myself," he grunted.

She sighed at his displeasure. "You are supposed to be on a shipwreck-holiday but you don't look like you are enjoying yourself."

He looked at her and realised that her face was serious. "You don't put shipwrecked and holiday together," he pointed out.

She grinned. "It makes sense in your case."

At last, he stood. "Fine." He gave her a smile, the one that he often used to entertain his clients. "If it makes you happy, Yuffie, I'll join you at the waterfall." Vincent took off his sandals, shivering as his bare feet touched the cold pebbles of the ground. He needed Wutai to cooperate with him for his project. If Yuffie could help his cause, he would need to start being friendly with her.

She grinned. "That's the spirit!"

There was an excited shout behind them. Both Vincent and Yuffie turned around to see who it was. Yuffie grinned and waved at them. She turned back at Vincent. "Just some kids from the village."

The group of three boys made their way towards them. Upon reaching them, they stared at Vincent and looked at his dark hair and copper eyes. They looked no older than fifteen. "Is this the Midgar man?" They asked in fairly fluent Midgarian.

Yuffie nodded and nudged Vincent towards them. "This is Vincent. You guys will need to call him Brother Vincent." She looked at Vincent. "Or should they call you something else…?"

The man shook his head. "Please call me Vincent," he said slowly to the boys, who nodded with a wide smile. The joy of being able to understand Midgarian is always more satisfying when spoken by a native speaker, after all. They introduced themselves as brothers, Lukka, Peroka and Mayaka. Vincent was sure that Yuffie has mentioned Mayaka's name before but he was not quite sure when.

"Hi Vincent!" they waved and looked at Yuffie again. "Yuffie! Let's go and play!" The boys jumped up and down. Clearly, the cold did not bother them at all.

They ran down the grass field and waddled into the water. Vincent took off his polo t-shirt and followed after them, with less enthusiasm. They dipped themselves and soon, the three boys started splashing water at each other and Yuffie. Vincent noted that they were polite enough to leave him out of the mess. They began talking in Wutaian but Vincent did not understand.

Yuffie laughed and answered, while Vincent sensed embarrassment in her tone. He raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" he asked.

She waved her hands at him. "Nothing much," she answered. Vincent looked at her, silently probing her to explain. Yuffie sighed. "They were making fun of my swimsuit. Saying it's ugly and the like." Vincent frowned at that remark.

Yuffie, however, just laughed and waved a hand at him. "Don't worry, Vincent!" She grinned. "'Boys will be boys', that's how you'll use that Midgarian phrase, right?"

Behind her, the boys were still laughing and pushing each other around. Vincent took a deep breath.

So much for leaving himself out of the mess.

Vincent waded towards them and gave them a smack on their heads. "That was not very polite," he said sternly. "You should not talk to a girl like that." He had gone ahead to get himself into some mess, though it was unintentional. Boys will be boys, but someone needs to talk to them before they get out of hand.

The two boys stared at him, a little at loss. Until Vincent felt a slosh of water drenching his whole body. Vincent turned around to see the third boy tossing another handful of water in his face. As the second jet of lake water hit Vincent square in the face, the third boy whooped and spoke in Wutaian.

The former two boys whooped as well. Vincent supposed that the boys were more excited to see their friend able to get an attack in.

"Mayaka!" said Yuffie, sounding more embarrassed than earlier on. "Don't be rude." She followed up with a string of Wutaian but Vincent did not bother to ask what they were saying.

He flicked the water off his face and gave the boys a grin. "You think that I cannot take a bit of water, eh?" He challenged. "Take that!"

With that, he launched into a barrage of water attacks at the teenagers, who yelled and dodged playfully. Yuffie stood at the side, staring at Vincent… until Vincent skidded his hands across the clear water towards her. She gasped as the cold water rushed against her and narrowed her eyes at Vincent. "Challenge accepted," she smirked. "I'll show you people how skillful the White Rose of Wutai can be!"

Vincent smiled. The water, indeed, was cooling and relaxing.

Wow. The biggest mental block ever. I was unable to get anything out for the last two months. I'm pretty glad that it's over.

I've written a short blurb and post on my thoughts writing this story so far. That's what I usually do for my previous stories, but I kinda forgot to do that this year. If you have tons of time in your hands, feel free to visit my blog at aichioluv dot blogspot dot sg

If not, please review this chapter as it would mean tons to me. Have a good week ahead!