Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,
By Ealinesse
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, apparently, Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… not to mention a couple more trashed vehicles, the shards to a broken locator… and well, not a lot else. Go me!
Summary: A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.
Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.
Category: Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.
Chapter Thirteen: Closure (Epilogue)…
Okay, so maybe she wasn't about to be killed…
Yuffie found herself pulled into an immense hug as soon as she rose to her feet. A small smile crept across her face and she returned the embrace willingly. "Not going to kill me?" she whispered, leaning down to tug on Staniv's earring, a tactic that had always annoyed her older guardian.
"Not yet, at least," was Staniv's faintly amused reply as he swatted her hand away, as had become habit.
"I think spending three days with that… Turk… is punishment enough."
Yuffie rolled her eyes slightly at Shake's entirely typical reply. Despite Reno's help in Wutai a few months earlier, Shake still harbored a grudge for the redhead, and was much too stubborn to relent. But then again, so was Reno. "If you say so, shorty," she replied, letting a wide grin spread across her face. It was good to see them, even if the disapproving frowns on their faces said that they weren't entirely too happy to be spending their reunion in an assassin's safehouse.
Elena stepped forward as they parted from the large hug, and closed the outside door. "We'll leave you to catch up," she said with a small smile. "We're going to check up on Reeve. Come tell us before you go."
"And remember what we told you," Rude added. "It's not for general discussion."
"Who am I going to tell?" Yuffie said, lifting an arm and raising her hand palm-up in agreement. Rude simply nodded and the duo left. She turned to her two aides and walked back to the couch, taking a seat and pulling the blanket she'd dropped around her. Shake and Staniv also sat, looking her over for a brief moment as if to ensure she hadn't sustained any bodily harm since arriving back, before glancing at each other, apparently satisfied.
Then they frowned, turning their dark, narrowed eyes on her.
"I suppose you have an explanation for this," Staniv said abruptly.
There it went. Yuffie gulped. Okay, so she'd been wrong. Again. They were mad, and they'd just wanted to make sure she was okay before grilling her. She opened her mouth to reply, to try and find some sort of explanation. It quickly occurred to her that she didn't have one – she hadn't intended to get into trouble, especially not with Reno, but she had interfered…
"Uh… heh…" She offered her most disarming smile, biting her lip slightly, knowing it wasn't going to be nearly enough to stop the two from launching into the rebuke that had just begun.
Two hours had passed. Only two hours. Yuffie closed her eyes, leaning back in the row of seats she'd nabbed in the back of the skycab. Despite the time of day, Staniv and her father had managed to secure a private car for them, which had most likely been undoubtedly expensive. She bit back a wince at the trouble they'd gone to to get her home today, comfortably, and realised that the reprimand she'd received earlier had this time been out of fear, and not anger. They hadn't been truly mad at her, not really, just worried when they'd received no word after days of absence.
Stretching back, a yawn escaped her, and she lifted her arms, soon finding her whole body participating in the movement. When her tired muscles threatened to cramp, Yuffie fell back again, a small smile creeping onto her lips.
"Everything okay back there, Miss Yuffie?"
"Everything's fine, Shake," she assured the shorter aide, who was up front talking with the cab driver. "Don't worry."
The man nodded and turned away, and Yuffie nestled her head back into the soft pillow, shaking it slightly as she remembered the confusion she'd no doubt displayed as Elena had handed it to her. It had been strange, saying goodbye to people she hadn't intended on visiting, but yet spending time with them hadn't been all that unpleasant. Elena was talkative, and distinctly everything she'd imagined a Turk couldn't be, and once past Rude's initial aloof exterior, it became clear that he was actually capable of holding a conversation, not to mention the odd facial expression. And to think, she'd never have known that otheriwse…
She closed her eyes, asleep before she could even register the fact, not realising that the coffee had long since worn off. It wasn't until she sat upright sharply, until a solid jolt woke her, that she even knew she'd been dreaming. Yuffie raised a hand to her cheek, gasping for breath as the dream that had terrified her while hidden from the waking world shattered. The images and sounds that had before been so vivid and clear faded out until all that was left was a cruel smile below ice blue eyes, staring mockingly onward as the large metal blocks began to descend.
"Get it together, you dimwit," she hissed to herself, running a hand through her sleep-tousled hair. "What Rude and Elena told you wasn't something intended to give you nightmares!"
"Yuffie?"
She looked up, seeing Staniv standing beside her. His expression was carefully guarded, as was generally always the case, but there was a slight lilt to his head that radiated concern. She shook her head, immediately regretting the action as her headache returned with a vengeance, then offered a brief thumbs-up. "'m fine, mother."
"Good," Staniv said with a nod, raising an eyebrow briefly. "We're in Midgar already. The cab for Wutai leaves in two hours – I'm sorry about the wait; it's the earliest afternoon round, and Godo required his helicopter today."
Yuffie blinked. "Midgar?" They weren't taking the more direct path home, from Junon? She twisted in her seat to stare out the window, her eyes taking in the newly refurbished skycab station before finally falling on the large banner in the distance. She read the sign several times, not sure why she felt so confused even after going over it, then turned back to the aide before her. So they were in Midgar, but... "Why this way?" she asked. "Why not directly from Junon?"
Staniv shrugged. "It's Sunday. Only the Midgar cab runs to Wutai on a Sunday, remember?"
Yuffie blinked again, feeling stupid. Well, that certainly made sense – after all, she'd caught numerous rides on the skycabs before, enough to know the schedule. It just seemed… odd that they'd go this way. She got to her feet, snagged the pillow on second thought, and followed Staniv as he began to exit the aisle. As they stepped out onto the loading platform any doubts as to where she was flew from her mind, as the general bustle and mayhem that surrounded the place made itself known. Pressing a hand to her temple she offered a wan grin at her aides, before ducking into the nearest shelter.
"… Ow."
"Headache, still?"
She nodded, frowned, then lifted the pillow to the back of her head and folded it around her ears. Yep, this was definitely Midgar all right. She sat down on a small bench with a groan. "Two hours, you said?"
"Unfortunately," she heard Shake reply through all the buzzing, with a scowl.
"Crap. Do we have to stay here?"
Seeing the look on their faces, Yuffie rolled her eyes. "We have two hours! I'm sure there's some place quieter… A café or something…"
"You're hungry again?" Staniv crouched beside her, pulling the pillow away and holding it by his side.
Her stomach gurgled, and she winced. She was really starting to hate that.
"Well, come on, then."
She watched as Staniv rose to his feet in a swish of heavy fabric, then got to her feet herself and followed the two of them through the throngs of people to the taxi checkpoint. They waited there for a while, and more prepared this time, she managed to block out most of the sounds that had previously assaulted her. Bored, she twirled her foot on the ground, hoping like hell that the next car would hurry up. When that didn't amuse her enough, she took another look around, scrutinizing the rapidly growing skyline.
New buildings were going up all the time, standing out starkly in the scarred sky. Rising with them were dozens of cranes, wrecking balls, winches, long skeletal fingers stretched outward, frozen. And on the farthest left of all the chaos, was the Western Airport. Yuffie let her eyes run along the line of numerous air-vehicles behind the large meshed fence in the distance, not really paying any particular attention until something familiar caught her eye.
Yuffie frowned, eyeing the sleek black helicopter with an appraising glance. There was something about it that was ringing a bell, despite its genuinely standard frame. It looked like one of the ones that Reeve commonly took places when he was in a hurry, or like the ones that they'd ridden in to or from various functions in the past. Her eyes narrowed, squinting past the horrible white, overcast glare as she struggled to read the tiny imprint on the side. Was that…
"Miss Yuffie? … Yuffie?"
Yuffie whipped her head around and blinked down at the hand on her shoulder, trailing her eyes up the arm and face to the worried set of ebony eyes. "I'm fine," she replied quickly, and the hand let go. "But is that helicopter… there… can you read that?"
Shake leaned forward. "Looks like one of those Shinra helicopters. Can't quite make it out, though. But why is one of Reeve's helicopters here? Only he and his direct subordinates have-"
"-Access to them," Yuffie finished off. "I know."
It made sense. Reno was in Midgar, and he'd taken a helicopter, and this was the only place that held air clearance in the entire city. The fact that it was still there meant he hadn't left yet. Before Yuffie knew what she was doing, she was on her feet, looking around for any sign of the redheaded Turk. When she spotted nothing of the sort around or in the area, she hunted for the exit and made her way towards it.
"Miss Yuffie! Where-"
"I know how we can kill some time," she replied, quickening her pace.
"Where are you going? Wouldn't it make more sense to take a taxi?"
She shook her head, ignoring the tiny demons that gleefully dug their little claws in at the movement. "It's not far, really. We can walk."
And I don't know if he'll still be there if we have to wait…
"But where are we walking to?"
This came from Staniv. Yuffie stopped and turned on her heel, shrugging. "Sector Seven."
"Sector Seven? Why?" Shake's tone was incredulous, confused. "There's nothing there but crushed-up rubble. Did that bump on the head do more damage than we thought?"
Yuffie rolled her eyes heavenward. "I'm going to meet someone there."
"You don't know anyone there! In fact, there is nothing there! You didn't mention this before… "
"Yuffie. Who's over at Sector Seven? No one lives there anymore, it's just rubble…"
Damn it; Staniv again. She sighed, pursing her lips. "Look, you can stay here if you want, I won't be long. I just have to… go…" What was she hoping to achieve by going there? What could she possibly say? That she knew? "I have to go and see something," she finished lamely. "Please," she added, when the duo's expressions didn't change.
Shake placed his hand on his hip, his short figure tense, lips thin. Staniv, however, lifted his chin briefly in assent.
"All right," he said, glancing at Shake for a moment out of the corner of his eye. "But we follow."
Yuffie grinned for a moment, then turned around and began walking, picking her way through the debris-strewn path that she knew would take her to the older ruins of Midgar. It was strange, the way that the place was divided: one half new, one half old. One half sinking into the boggy grounds that plagued the area, some parts nothing more than patchy, pitiful craters, while the other areas rose up, streaking heavenward in a purge for survival.
It was about a fifteen minute walk to where the remains of Sector Seven lay, and the downtrodden archway that she found herself stepping carefully over only confirmed their arrival, even if most of it looked just the same as all the rest. She stopped just inside the area, eyeing the region that had been demolished not only once, but twice. Large piles of rubble lay strewn on the ground, some as short as her, others metres tall, stretching for the sky in one final amassed act of defiance. She stopped, eyeing the area with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew this place; she'd been here before, not too long after Meteor had totaled everything, to help the others clean up…
And even the Turks had been there, Reno in the lead, searching…
Yuffie's eyes widened in the realisation that it hadn't just seemed that he had been looking for something after all, but that he had… She had been right, even back then, though it had seemed so out of place at the time. But now… She scouted the area, seeing nothing, and began to worm her way around the heap of scrap metal and charred, indistinguishable objects. The sound of footsteps behind her told her that her aides were following, though hanging back a little in what she knew to be confusion and reluctance. Eventually, after about forty minutes of navigating the tiny, dusty tracks in between, she stopped.
"There's no one here," Staniv informed her, seeing her hesitation, his gaze a little too insightful, not to mention slightly disproving. "Are you sure who you were looking for is here?"
Yuffie frowned. Of all the places in Midgar that Reno could go, and from everything that Rude and Elena had told her, all her instincts pointed to here. So why wasn't he? Had they somehow passed each other on their separate ways? It wasn't like it was easy to miss someone that stood out as much as him. "I don't know," she said after a second, turning to face the area they'd searched as best they could. "I thought I was right, but…"
"Perhaps you missed whoever it was," Shake offered impatiently, glancing at his watch. "In any which case, this is not the ideal place for a person of your standing to frequent, so shall we?"
Yuffie cast a last look back at the scattered rubble before nodding hesitantly. At the agreement, her aides turned and began to leave, not waiting for any other protest. Even so, they were a good ten-or-more metres in front of her before she actually moved a foot in departure. Something was holding her back – something stupid. She sighed, and finally began to move, not sure why she was annoyed at having walked all that distance for nothing.
"What are you doing out of bed?" a voice drawled suddenly from behind her.
Yuffie froze at the voice and turned around instantly. Oh, there was no doubt about who it was all right, despite the slightly reproachful tone. But when she looked back, there was no one there. She frowned, shook her head, and was about to chalk it up to lack of sleep when it came again.
"Up here, brat."
Yuffie cast her eyes up… and up… and well, up. She squinted into the light, ignoring the shooting pain that it brought, finally spotting the familiar silhouette of the Turk on top of a relatively stable pile of ruins. She cocked her head to the side. Reno was lying on his back, one arm lying carelessly under his head, looking for all the world like he was as comfortable up there as he would be on a sofa in front of the television. Neglecting the snide little voice in her head that said he probably was just as comfortable in such a place as the slums, she took special note of the beer bottle that hung from one of his hands, and the now-returned glasses that were over his eyes… for once. He wasn't looking at her, but instead up at the sky.
"What are you doing up there?" she asked, ignoring his initial question.
"What are you doing… here?" Reno returned with just as much curiosity. She watched as he rolled onto his side, looked down at her through his glasses. Something yellow-tinged glinted on the exposed 'v' of his neck, and she noted with belated realisation that it was the key that Rude and Elena had told her about. Why had she expected it to be bigger, more threatening… ?
"I'm going back to Wutai," she replied. "We couldn't go directly to home from Junon because it's a Sunday, and-"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Reno sat up completely this time, taking a moment to wedge the beer bottle in between some rubble so it wouldn't fall. He looked down at her, crimson eyebrows drawn together in a frown. "Why are you here?"
She had no answer for that. She shrugged, knowing that it wouldn't do. Instead she eyed his beer, wondering if there had been others before that. "Are you drunk?"
Reno laughed, the corner of his mouth tugging upward in his familiar lopsided smirk. "Regretfully, not much." He paused, tipping his head to the side. "They told you, didn't they? How else would you have known to come here?"
Yuffie shook her head. "Told me what?" she retorted. "They told me you'd gone to Midgar, and that was it. I saw the helicopter – they told me that, too – and knew you wouldn't be far." She raised a hand to cover her eyes, putting the other behind her back and crossing her fingers against the lie. "You were here… just after Meteor happened. It's why you helped us clean everything up, wasn't it? You were looking…"
"For what, Yuff? Gold?"
"No. Ashley." Why was she being so bold? What did it matter to her about this? It had nothing to do with her… So why couldn't she shut the hell up? "You never did tell Cloud why you were helping us clean it up, to look for survivors, did you, Turk?"
But it was Reno's turn to not answer, and Yuffie knew then that she was right. She watched as he pulled a cigarette from a battered packet and lit it up with not a lighter, but a small orb of materia – the one from the crash site, she recognised.
"Ashley's not coming back, Yuff. He's been dead a long time. I thought I told you that, or perhaps that knock on the head did more than I thought to screw up your memory…"
"Dead, perhaps. But not to you. That key I saw you take off Donovan… What you said about him being taken away by him... You had the chance to save him, didn't you?"
… Goddamnit, girl! Learn to keep your own mouth shut…
Reno showed no outward reaction except to visibly scowl, though even from where she stood she could see the tenseness in his lean frame. He took a long drag on the glowing cigarette before letting it out between barely parted lips. "You want to dye your hair blonde and call yourself Elena, while you're at it?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but found none forthcoming, and Reno shrugged.
"Guess not." Reno took that opportunity to take up the offensive, grabbing his beer before jumping off the side of the pile. He landed beside her, perfectly composed, only his wild red hair wavering in the slight breeze. Not even the beer spilled.
"Let me tell you something that you're going to have to take to heart, Yuff," he said after a moment, and Yuffie found herself watching his back as he walked past her and leaned against a large metal frame protruding from the ground. "I'm a Turk. You've known that for years now. I'm not someone you want to hang around with. In case that lovely little stroll in the forest didn't refresh your memory as to the fact that I'm not safe to be around, the fact that I nearly killed you in that hotel room should, among other things."
She frowned. This wasn't where she'd intended for the conversation to go. It was getting bitter, Reno's tone amused but icy cool. "I'm not saying-"
"Then what are you saying?" Reno quipped back, shooting a glance back at her that she didn't like. "I'm sure you're well aware of who you are; of what you are, and of what you mean to Wutai, not to mention your father. You can't afford to hang around someone like me." There was a snort. "Tell me, what did Avalanche say when they found out you had my help last time, in Wutai?"
Yuffie felt a scowl of her own flit across her face. Perhaps this was the reaction she should have expected. But what if she had just left it… could she have just left it? She doubted it; she was sure her line had a genetic flaw somewhere that stated an unnatural knack for annoying inquisitiveness was a good thing. She ploughed on. "They don't know, but… they'll find out this time."
"Of course they will – Reeve is more directly involved this time. He'll tell them."
Yuffie shrugged, not so sure of that; it would likely be left up to her. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'll find some way to tell them, or find some way to explain it. Who cares right now… it has nothing to do with them anyway." She paused. "But I see you're grateful for the help then, as usual, Turk."
"Help?"
"In case you didn't notice, I dragged your sorry ass through the forest when you couldn't walk. I should have expected as much from you, though. I should have just left you in the alley, or in the forest, or in the hotel..."
"I'm a Turk," was the consistent reply. "As I seem to keep having to tell you. I've suffered much worse. You know what I've done, and yet you're still here. You shouldn't be. Sometimes it's best to leave things the hell alone – you don't want to get caught up with me."
… There are some things that are best left buried…
"Yeah, well it's not my fault that you ended up-"
"Yuffie!"
Yuffie spun around, and was suddenly faced with her aides. Her eyes widened slightly and she winced as she realised she'd forgotten about them for the moment. The taller of the two, Staniv, was looking at her calmly, as if he already knew what she'd been doing. Shake, however, more hotheaded and impulsive, was looking up at Reno with some measure of annoyance.
"I see you've finally found your place, Turk."
Yuffie felt her wince dissolve into a full-fledged grimace. She was saved from having to reply when both Staniv and Reno came up with one instead. At the same time, as Staniv lifted his arm in a halting gesture, Reno flicked his glasses up onto the top of his head and peered derisively down at the shorter aid.
"Can it, shortass," the Turk said bluntly.
Okay, so Reno's apparently hostile mood wasn't helping. She turned to her aides, looking at them both in turn. "Well… I found him," she said with a fleeting smile. "But…I would like to talk to him by myself."
"Miss Yuffie-" Shake began, but she merely shook her head.
"Shake, let me talk to him. I promise, he's not going to kill me or anything stupid. I won't let him. Please," she added again, glancing at the more controlled of her guardians meaningfully…
That word always had been their downfall.
"Very well," Staniv said, his own ebony eyes flicking with a gaze of his own to Reno's. "We'll be waiting a short distance away."
"Thanks," she whispered, and they left. She ignored the distinctive sound of Shake's annoyed muttering, and the shuffling of their feet, and turned to Reno, who was eyeing her with an unreadable expression.
"What?" she asked after a moment. "What is it?"
Reno shrugged, nonchalant. "Nothing," he said after a second. "You were the one that came here, remember?"
She sighed. This conversation was just leading them around in circles, and it seemed that there was no point. With a huff of annoyance she found a reasonably clear patch and sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees with a groan. "Unfortunately, yes."
Nearly there…
"… Unfortunately, huh?"
There was a soft rustle of cloth to her right. Yuffie glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching as Reno sat down beside her in a similar position to her own, beer bottle draped casually out of one of his hands. She shrugged. "Well, this conversation certainly isn't going anywhere."
There was a snort. "Had you even intended for it to go anywhere?"
She rolled her eyes. "… Would you believe me if I told you I had no clue? I already told you I didn't know you were here until I saw your helicopter."
Another snort, followed by a short laugh. "Probably. But that would probably explain why it isn't going anywhere."
"Your sarcasm is duly noted, ass." She paused for a second, shooting her gaze upward as a skycab shot over the desolate scene. She frowned, knowing Reno had a point. If all she had were questions that weren't going to be answered, questions that she wasn't going to need the answers for anything… then what was the point in trying? Reno was a stubborn idiot, and not one to divulge in the finer points of his life with a one-time enemy. But then again, she knew the story now, anyway. She knew why Reno had reacted so badly to the tiny cut on her cheek, why he'd tried to hide his relief when it had healed fine, not to mention how irritable he'd been on their little 'trip'. She even knew why he'd come here, and had managed to cover up that fact reasonably well, even if he didn't quite believe her.
"…I hear thinking is bad for you, these days."
Yuffie craned her neck and looked around at Reno with a blunt stare, not realising she'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she'd fallen completely silent. "Well that sure explains a lot," she threw back, picking up the offered ammunition easily. "You're sure going to have fun writing those reports, huh?"
Reno cursed and took a long sip of his beer. "Did you really have to mention that, brat?" he scowled. "I knew there had to be a catch to that damn vacation…"
Yuffie caught the last part as he muttered it under his breath in exaggerated annoyance. She shook her head slightly, realising that this topic was another sore point with the Turk. She shrugged, deciding it was time for a change in topic. "Soo…" she let her voice trail off until she was sure that Reno was looking at her. "How about that gorgeous Midgar weather?"
Reno raised his eyebrows at the sudden topic change, the smirk widening into a slight grin. "So you finally got the point, did you? No more pointless, Elena-style questions?"
She lifted a hand in surrender, leaning back a little on the other so he'd get the point. "Okay, okay," she said after a second, knowing that now it didn't matter what questions she asked him, she already had the answers. But that didn't matter anymore, anyway; she knew enough – perhaps more than she wanted… Already her own mind was challenging how she perceived him, how she wanted to keep perceiving him, the illusion of who he was was already shattering. "I promise I won't ask you anymore questions," she added finally.
One red eyebrow lifted higher. "You won't, huh?" Reno leaned around, looking at something behind her dubiously. "You're not just crossing your fingers again?"
Yuffie felt a blush run across her cheeks as she discovered he'd known she'd done that the last time. She shook her head, waiting for the reprimand, but none came. Hiding her mild surprise, she shrugged and lifted the other hand from supporting behind her back, bringing it into plain view. "No tricks," she said, wiggling her fingers arcanely with a growing smile. "You can keep the rest of your spooky and mysterious past to yourself."
The line had the desired effect. Yuffie watched as Reno pulled out another smoke, lit it up, then looked at her with a growing expression of amusement. She resisted the urge to grin back in relief as the tension that had been building up snapped completely this time.
"I'm glad I have your permission," he drawled finally, taking a long drag on the smoke, mask back in place.
They sat in silence for a while, until Reno finished the cigarette, finally crushing the stub out on the ground beside him. Yuffie leaned back on her hands again, looking around the confused rubble, trying to discern the big from the small. Something that looked like a mangled car protruded from a pile of scrappy iron sheets, and a shattered concrete lamppost laying a few feet of in front of her. And everything was grey. How had they even managed to find anything in there, let alone a few living people…?
"Yuff?"
… How could anyone survive being crushed by all that? How could Ashley have --
"Oi, brat!"
She snapped her head up. "Mm?"
"When does your cab leave?"
She looked at her watch. "Four. I have an hour."
"What a fun ride," Reno commented, not saying anything about how passive she was being. "I'd have thought that last episode with the dragon would have put you off travelling on the things."
"You're not on the same cab, so I'll be fine," she returned distractedly, with a negligent wave of her hand.
Reno snorted. "And you say I'm charming."
"I'm only hinting that you drag trouble around with you."
"Coming from you…"
Yuffie painted an indignant expression onto her face as an all-too convenient memory popped back into her head. "Not true. Apparently, I just follow trouble, not attract it."
Reno smirked. "Bitter, Yuff?"
"A tagalong, am I?" she asked coyly, ignoring his question.
He looked away from her, hiding the grin. She saw it anyway, it was that wide. He took a sip of the beer to cover it, and she resisted the urge to pick it up and throw it away.
"Somewhat," he replied eventually. "You did follow, and you weren't a part of the original mission."
When he put it like that it almost sounded like it made sense… but not nearly enough. Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Ass," she said again. "You're such an ingrate."
"Yeah, well. Comes with the territory and the job description."
She shook her head in disbelief at the easy dismissal, and was about to comment on it when raised voices in the distance caught her eye. She twisted around as far as she could, looking back at the aides in the distance. From what she could tell, Shake was getting angry (as usual when it came to matters regarding Shinra), and Staniv was trying to buffer the argument with cool words and calm gestures. She shook her head. Perhaps she should leave…
"Oh, great. Your little bodyguards are having their first domestic."
Yuffie smirked and glanced back at Reno. She got to her feet with a brief roll of her eyes and more than a little hesitancy, then shrugged. "I'd better go separate them."
Reno seemed to pause for a second, his eyes shooting toward the two Wutaian men and then back to Yuffie. But it was only a second. He got to his feet a little slower, and she noted with some relief that he'd left the beer bottle on the ground.
"Good luck," he remarked. "The midget looks like he's ready to tear Staniv's hair out."
"Oh, goody," she replied, suddenly not so sure if she wanted to go ahead and separate them. She knew what they were arguing about, and if they went over there they'd suggest she leave. She glanced down at her watch again, noting only five minutes had passed. Great, so they still had just under an hour. But she knew what she had to do.
With some annoyance she ignored the bizarre, idiotic compulsion to stay and let them fight it out; to stay and talk to Reno. But Shake was getting mad, and… well. She couldn't hang around here forever. She didn't even know the reason why she'd come here, so why should she feel the need to stay? Reno had been right, after all, she couldn't afford hang around in a place like this. Though it wasn't like she particularly cared, either. She'd never been fond of orders shaped as suggestions, and she always did as she pleased…
"Well?"
Oh, great. She'd been staring off into space again. She glanced up at Reno. "Want me to go that badly?"
"I didn't say that. I'm just implying that it's going to take a while to split that little scrap up. And, if you don't go quickly, I think ol' Shake there is going to make Staniv do something with that pillow he'll regret."
Yuffie followed Reno's gaze to the two men a short distance away. From where she stood she could see Shake gesturing madly, occasionally turning enough to glare at Reno. Staniv was still trying to calm the shorter man, but it wasn't working quite as well anymore – Shake was irate.
"Oh crap," she groaned. "You're right. This is going to take me a while. Shake has this way of getting really worked up about things that annoy him…"
"I noticed," Reno muttered dryly.
Yuffie blinked. Of course he knew that, she realised. He had, after all, been locked into a fourth-floor room simply because Shake had disapproved of Yuffie even talking to him. She rolled her eyes. "I'd better go."
"So you should."
But for some reason she didn't move. "If I don't stop them now we'll miss the cab," she observed with a slight frown.
"Well I have Reeve's helicopter… we all know how you love them."
"Ugh," she groaned, taking a slow step toward her aides, then another. She shook her head at the thought. "Nuh-uh. You'll never get me willingly on anything that isn't in some way connected to the ground anymore."
There was a short laugh behind her. "As opposed to two thin cables hanging you a couple dozen metres off the ground or over the sea… I seem to remember they hit the ground pretty hard when encouraged, if I'm not mistaken…"
"Ass!" she said, at Reno's way too amused tone. "As if I don't have enough reasons to regret travelling with motion sickness, without wondering whether it's going to fall from the sky… again!"
"Just pointing out the pocket positives, Yuff."
She turned around then, and placed a hand on her hip. "You know, you like annoying people way too much than's good for a person."
"I don't do a lot that's good for me," Reno countered. She watched as he very deliberately pulled out another smoke and lit it up.
Yuffie shook her head slowly, exasperated. "You're an idiot."
Reno shrugged, mumbled something around the smoke in his mouth, then lifted an arm and pointed nonchalantly at the two men behind her. Yuffie twisted around slightly to glance over her shoulder, wary of the glittering amusement present in Reno's eyes. She could soon see why. She sighed, tugging on a lock of hair, watching as Staniv attempted to prevent Shake from stalking angrily towards them by grabbing a bunch of material behind his neck. The sight was really quite comic despite the situation, with Shake struggling to get free, and she had to purse her lips in order to hide the grin.
"All right," she mouthed as Staniv sent her an irksome look. She turned back to Reno again, and cocked her head to the side. "Well then…" she began, not really sure of what to say. What did you say to someone you'd been running around in the wopwops with for three days, in desperation, trying to get away from a madman? How many times had they saved each others' asses since then? She did a quick tally, then lost count. "Guess I'll see you… when… "
"When I see you," Reno finished for her simply, smirking slightly.
She nodded, and backed away a little. Probably next time one of us gets into trouble, gets shot, needs to be carted around, or gets held for ransom… But she didn't say that. She nodded. "See you around," she said, and turned away. She'd moved about five steps when it occurred to her how she could complete the otherwise strangely inadequate goodbye. She bit back a grin – this would make it more complete… for her at least.
"Oh, Turk?"
"Yeah?"
She transferred her weight to one leg, lifting a finger in the air. "One more thing."
"… What?" The tone was wary, Reno's eyes slightly narrowed.
In a flash of movement that she knew her head was going to kick her for when it caught up, she darted forward and plucked the smoldering cigarette from between Reno's fingers before he could stop her. In one fluid action she lowered her arm and dropped the smoke, squishing it under her boot before, with a flourish, nudging over the half-empty beer bottle. As the bubbly amber liquid began to spill across the dusty ground she stepped quickly away, flashing a brief wink and a wide grin.
"You really should give up your bad habits," was all she offered in explanation as she walked quickly away, leaving Reno behind her and catching up to her two guardians. She didn't hear Reno's reply, though he almost undoubtedly gave one, and picked her way through the rubble with Staniv and the coarsely muttering Shake hot on her heels. She didn't even allow herself the satisfaction of catching Reno's expression before she rounded the corner and was out of site. Perhaps that would get him mad enough to stop his lonesome brooding.
By the time she'd reached the skycab station, twenty minutes later, the grin was still plastered on her face.
My work here is done…she thought with glee, chuckling quietly to herself. But oh man was he going to kill her…
"Brat."
Reno looked down at his spilt beer and crushed cigarette with a vaguely annoyed expression, before that faded into a smirk. "Complete and utter brat." He stepped forward and covered the ruined smoke with his booted foot, rubbing it further into the ground. He'd wanted that smoke.
And the beer, too, damn it.
Turning away from where the bottle was lying he glanced in the direction that Yuffie had disappeared, back toward civilization. He shook his head, eyeing the destroyed area, shoving thoughts of the search that those of Avalanche and his Turks had conducted just after Meteor. His hand came up to grip the chain that hung around his neck, and he squared his jaw before pulling it free with a firm tug.
The twice-broken links came free easily, and he was left staring down at it as it hung in his gloved hand before him, the tiny key draping languidly between his fingers. He scowled, held it up to the dull, white light for a moment, watching as it twirled and swayed in the light breeze, and then… he let it go. It wasn't anything dramatic, or even something that required a lot of effort or emotion. He didn't throw it, or even kiss it goodbye. One moment he was holding it, and the next he wasn't; it was as simple as that.
Reno watched the thin golden chain fall into a pile of loose rubble, flicked his sunglasses down over his eyes. The key and its counterpart landed with a dull, empty jingle, slipping quickly out of sight and easily falling in between the various scraps of metal without complaint, as if it had never been in the first place. Reno felt his eyes linger for a moment longer in the place it had disappeared…
Then he walked away.
Perhaps Yuffie had been right, after all, though not in the way she'd intended. Some things were better left alone, once over and done with best put away, once closed best not reopened. He felt around in his pocket for the packet of cigarettes, only to find that the it was empty… Yuffie had destroyed his last smoke. He pulled the packet out, looked curiously at it for a second, then chucked that away too.
After all, if he was giving up one bad habit, then perhaps another at the same time couldn't be so bad.
A FEW DAYS LATER…
"For the last time, Reno, you are going to go through this evidence, whether you want to or not!"
Reno looked up at Reeve, then past the glaring man to yet another guard carrying a blue canvas duffel bag into the room.
"All of it?" he asked, his hands pulling away from behind his head to rest on the desk in front of him, his long legs sliding off the desk at the same time as he leaned forward. "Why? None of it has any relevance to the case, it's just some stuff that Yuffie stole from-"
"From Trent. Yes, I know," Reeve replied, rubbing a hand over his face. "But it has to go under record, because it turned up at the end with you. Things have to be done right, Reno. I'll have no arguments. If you don't do this… your week's vacation is forfeit. End of discussion!"
Well what do you know, Reno thought, as he watched Reeve stalk back into his own office. Reeve is finally starting to show some backbone. But even as that occurred to him, his eyes washed over the various bags that had been dumped inside his office, then the stack of papers in front of him. He groaned and got up, dragging a bag from the pile back to his desk.
A week's holiday… he forced himself to think. That's the only fucking reason I'm doing deskwork…
He'd been in his office, cataloguing the various items and their distinct lack of relevance on paper for nearly an hour when his door opened. Again. He looked up as Elena walked in, placed yet another mug of coffee on his desk, before offering a slight, not-so comforting grin. Then she left, the door closing with a soft click behind her.
"She is enjoying this way too much," he muttered, taking a sip of the coffee. The warm, energy-sustaining liquid renewed him a little, and he pulled another object out of the bag, and was about to fill in the sheet on his desk when something familiar about the item struck him. Dumping the pen he'd been holding with one hand, Reno focused all his attention on the object. What, apart from the fact that his broken locator had been concealed inside, was so special about this disgusting green bumbag?
Reno frowned, scratched his head, then placed the bag on the desk. When simply staring at it failed to produce any results, he reached out his hand again and ran it over the ugly calico surface. A sudden wave of memory flooded over him, and Reno snapped open eyes he hadn't realised he'd closed. His hand slipped from the top of it onto the side, and he gripped the makeshift handles, the reason why it was so familiar suddenly occurring to him.
Reno stood from his desk and dragged the item with him, using his arm to swing the bag through the air a few times in a test. Feeling the reassuring weight of the item only confirmed it. Yep, that was it, all right. He sat back down, raising an eyebrow at what he'd just recognised to be the object Yuffie had thrown him when Donovan had had him pinned toward the end of the fight. A small grin made the corner of his mouth twitch. So this was the item that had turned the tables…
Before he knew what he was doing, Reno had unzipped the top of the bag, remembering that Reeve had placed the locator inside. As he flipped open the top flap Reno felt his eyes widen. The interior of the bumbag was nothing but a mess of shattered plastic, wires, and other random objects. "Well I guess I just found out why the fucking locator stopped working…" He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, sitting back in his high-backed chair at the realisation. Not a glitch at all, but solid impact with Donovan's rock-hard head. Amused, he scribbled the 'usage' of the object down on the paper beside it, and then proceeded to close the bag.
Well, began to proceed to close it, at least…
Reno stopped halfway, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small shard of wood. He frowned, rotating it in his grip. The outside surface, where there still was an outside surface, was smooth and coated in a dark kind of varnish, the apparent inside edges equally so. Where it hadn't splintered, held in the light, he could tell it was made of an expensive wood, and had been well worked. But what was a decorative sliver of wood doing in his bumbag? The locator's exterior, shattered though it was, was made solely of black pvc…
Not wood.
Reno leaned in closer to the bag, rifling through the interior with his pen. Several other, bigger pieces of lumber turned up, some nearly as big as his fist. Puzzled, he pulled them out too, separating them from the shattered segments of the locator. Still having no idea, he continued his search and his analysis. It wasn't until a small, wooden wind-up peg jumped out at him, followed quickly by a cylindrical, textured metal tube, that he remembered what it was: the minute music box that that kid had stolen off Yuffie in the alley. When they'd been running across the rooftops he'd snatched it up from his previously concealed position, put it in his bag, and forgotten about it…
And when they'd been fighting Donovan, it had been the sheer weight and density that had helped to knock Donovan onto his back, and help him get back onto his feet.
Reno shook his head and placed the splinters of wood back into the bag, and sealed it up. Instead of just dumping it in the pile with the other previously-examined gear, though, he put it on the desk in front of him, and continued with his work. Well, more like he tried to…
Or not.
For about the thousandth time Reno found himself looking across the desk at the bag and it's destroyed contents. He scowled, shook his head as if to clear it, then picked up another item, only to put it back down seconds later as fragments of an idea began to form in his mind.
Without any further thought in discouragement Reno got to his feet, gathered the various papers he had on his desk, and dumped them into his previously paper-free rubbish bin. When that didn't prove satisfactory enough, he reached into his pocket and secured his gloved hand around the tiny, low-level fire materia that he'd kept with him since Donovan's death – one that Reeve and Elena had missed in their search. Placing the bucket away from anything it could catch on in the middle of the room, he focused on the small tin and the papers within.
The bone-dry leaflets caught straight away, not offering any protest toward being burnt to a crisp. A wide smirk flickered across his face as he watched the compact orange blaze for a moment, before opening the outside window, snatching up the bum bag, and striding casually out of the room.
Fuck Reeve and his reports, he'd just found something better to spend his time and effort on.
"Well this is certainly… interesting…"
Yuffie twisted around, arranging her body awkwardly until she finally managed to get into a position that was comfortable. Again. She gave up halfway, since that ambition was impossible for such a place (of course) and instead shuffled backward, bracing her back against the trunk of the tree and pulling her knees up to her chest, balancing herself carefully on the branch lest she should fall. She sighed, looking out over the various treetops and steepled rooftops, tipping her head backward against the rough bark.
It had been eight days since she'd returned home, found her father wasn't so mad after all, and been told to go to bed before she fell over. Now, nearly a week after coming back she was sick of sleeping and sick of doing nothing, despite her aides' insistence she not do otherwise. She almost found herself wishing for company, but had long since quelled that urge. Meeting with Tifa and the others would bring questions, and that was something she wasn't going to put up with just yet. They knew she was fine, couldn't they just leave it at that? She tipped her head to the side, and those thoughts of company of course led her to wondering what the Turks were doi—
Wait. That just wouldn't do.
Yuffie huffed and resettled herself, dangling a leg from the branch and swinging it quickly in distraction. She'd climbed the tree two hours ago, simply because there had been nothing better to do. It was strange, really. She'd simply woken up that morning, gotten herself ready for the day ahead, gone outside and… decided that this particular tree had looked particularly appealing. Apparently, she hadn't quite had enough of dense forest yet, or perhaps it was the fact that this time she wasn't oppressed by the woodland, but above it…
She cast her eyes out over the extensive canopy of trees, looking out at the looming figure of Da Chao in the distance. Her hazel eyes slipped closed, and images of the time her and Elena had been strung up flashed back to her momentarily. A small grin formed on her face as she thought of the Turks, of the strange hug and the pillow she'd received from Elena when leaving, and the brief, appraising handshake she'd shared with Rude… And the conversation she'd had with Reno.
Yuffie tugged at her lip thoughtfully, then pushed the reflection away. She couldn't just keep looking into it; Reno had told her that much. So she sat there for a while longer, letting the warm sun wash over her body, waiting for something to happen just so she could have something to do, not to mention something else to think about.
She didn't have to wait long.
The sound of feet snapping twigs and crunching leaves caused her to open her eyes and look down. She glanced at Staniv, who was looking up at her with a faintly amused expression.
"Nice view?"
Yuffie smiled. "Yep. Does father need me for something?"
The aide shook his head, but pulled out a small, wrapped-up box from the inside of a large pocket on the side of his robes. "No. But this arrived for you just before."
Yuffie blinked. "A parcel?"
"Yes."
She blinked again. She hadn't been expecting anything, let alone a parcel. Her birthday wasn't for another half year!
"For me."
"Yes."
"And it arrived just before."
"Do you want it or not?" Staniv asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He didn't have to ask her twice. Yuffie got to her feet and clambered down the tree quickly, her descent leading her around and around the trunk before she reached the lowest branch. She leapt off it quickly and landed gracefully next to Staniv, who held out the box.
"Does it say who it's from?" she asked, taking it and turning it over in her grip.
"No. But Reeve's official stamp is on the back, so it's from his offices."
"Oh." She frowned, and they made their way inside. Aware of Staniv's eyes watching her in a sidelong glance, she continued to examine the rectangular object, feeling it for weight, bumps, and finally shaking it a little.
"Are you actually going to open it?"
Yuffie raised an eyebrow and poked out her tongue. "You jus' want to see what it is," she replied, hiding it behind her back with a grin.
"Of course I do," her aide countered.
"Well tough," she said, as they drew into the main chambers. She winked, and then hurried off in the direction of her room. "I'll tell you once I know."
"Yes, Yuffie." Staniv's slightly resigned voice echoed.
Yuffie made her way up the various steps to her room. When she finally reached it she flung open her door, closed it again, and settled comfortably down on the futon beside the window, tucking her legs under her. She placed the small, wrapped box down in front of her for a moment, staring at it with curiosity. Why would Reeve send her anything? She'd received her bag and everything in it back the day after she'd arrived home, so why this?
Unable to keep her hands off it any longer, she picked it up again and began to unwrap the string and layers of brown paper and bubble wrap around it with care. When the last of the tape on the wrapping paper came free, she saw what it was. "Oh… " she whispered, not quite sure what to think, glancing down at the small music box that she'd planned to give Tifa for her birthday. She'd completely forgotten about it now that she'd received her bag back, but now… "So that's what it was."
But it wasn't.
Even as she examined the outside, ran her fingers lightly over the smooth, varnished surface, it became quickly apparent that this was not the same one. She frowned slightly, and bit her lip. The wood was slightly darker, the cut a little smaller, and the patterns that had been carved into the top were a of a more foreign variation to the Wutaian decoration that had been there before – what was previously a simple silver-inlaid leaf design, was now something entirely different – though no less expert. She blinked. Why would Reeve send her a music box… a different one? Come to think of it, what had happened to the other?
She'd just placed the box down in front of her, ready to open it up when the breeze picked up from the open window. There was the sound of rustling paper, and she glanced across at the wrapping which had begun to skitter across the floor. Her hand snapped out quickly to stop it, and she lifted it back to tuck under her foot. That was when she noticed the folded sheet of paper inside. Hoping it was a note that would explain what was going on, she retrieved it and unfolded it, and began to read.
"Brat,
You know what it was you threw me when Donovan and I were fighting? It was this. Well, this inside my bumbag, actually – I took it from that kid and had it with me for some stupid reason when we were escaping from the alley. It was smashed to pieces when I found it, like my fucking locator. Couldn't quite find the same stuff it was made out of, but then again, I'm not in Wutai, am I? It was way too mangled to see what the pattern was when I recovered it, but this one's probably better anyway… "
Yuffie glanced down at the small note, some of her confusion cleared. She stopped toward the end of the letter, staring with astonishment at the tiny box and the silver-inlain outline of the dragon on the lid in slowly-dawning comprehension. She shook her head slowly in disbelief. Even without reading to the end she knew who'd written this; she'd seen his handwriting a couple of times before, when he'd been in Wutai a few months ago… and who else called her 'brat'?. But… it just wasn't making sense. She turned back to the letter, her eyes soaking up the last few lines.
"Oh, and by the way, you know that crap about reading the card first and opening the present later? Yeah, well, it's all a load of shit! Open the damn box!
Reno."
Okay… so no further explanation there, just a misplaced order. She placed the letter aside and lifted the lid of the box, half-expecting some rancid contraption to jump out and smack her over the head. But nothing happened, not really. Yuffie wriggled around, lying down on her futon, pulling her knees out from under her and kicking them up in the air, her head resting on her hand. Her other hand snaked out when she was done to run over the equally masterful interior, to the black crushed velvet that seamlessly lined the compartment in the bottom, then finally to a second folded sheet of paper that was contained inside.
Yuffie blinked. Again. She pulled the piece of paper out, opened it, and found her eyes widening further as they skimmed over the details. When she reached the bottom of the token, Reno's print stood out yet again. Her jaw dropped, and she read over the item several more times, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Pick your jaw up off the floor, it's about time you learned how to drive… and I'll see you around."
Yuffie sat there for a while. She found herself looking between the objects one by one with a mixture of puzzlement, amusement, amazement, not to mention many other emotions she couldn't name. Reno hadn't given her a reason for sending this; hadn't said anything of use, except to say that she needed to learn to drive. She conceded to that point, although why he'd be the one to give a damn was beyond her. It seemed bizarre, though then again, Reno wasn't the most straight-forward person in the world, and he had a twisted sense of humor… But was… this…?
She looked down at the token for the 'five free driving lessons' again, and finally allowed herself to soak up the details on the printed invoice – the date, the times. And the place. She pursed her lips, a tiny smile creeping onto her face and refusing to go away. May twenty-second – a week from now. Two-thirty pm…
Location: Midgar.
Without thinking Yuffie reached out and twisted the small peg on the inside edge of the music box, winding it up. As she let go the notes rose up into the air, perfectly tuned, and perfectly timed – but completely different, and all-too familiar. So even the tune had changed. She shook her head in wonderment, thinking back to the last time Reno had been in Wutai, when he'd heard that same music through the window and thrown her a brief note. Lifting the playing box up she took it over to the large dresser, where one of a similar style lay. She waited for a moment, for the already playing music to stop. When it did, she twisted both dials at the same time as evenly as she could, before letting go.
It worked.
The melody from both boxes lifted into the crisp morning air, and she stared at them for a moment, not quite sure of what to think. One of them… the oldest, had been her mother's; had been passed down and owned by the females of the line for generations. And the second… had been a gift for Tifa, but had somehow been crafted and twisted around and manipulated to become something more suited for… well, her. She walked back over to her bed and closed her eyes, sure of one thing – she would have to find Tifa another present… she was keeping this one.
See you around…
She grinned, knowing it was stupid, but not particularly caring. It didn't matter what would come of it, or what happened while she was there. She couldn't even tell, really, why the prospect of going back thrilled her so much when there was only an arrogant Turk and his friends there to greet her, let alone Tifa, who would ask too many questions. She couldn't tell, again, why it felt like the inside of her chest was going to burst, or why her face was reddening, a crimson blush spreading over her cheeks. But that didn't matter right now, anyway, and she couldn't bring herself to care. In just over a week, it seemed, she was going back to Midgar.
FIN… Because with every ending, there is always a new beginning…
Author's notes:
Well there it is, the last chapter of Smoke and Shattered Mirrors. I feel kind of sad ending this, as it has been a story I have immensely enjoyed writing, but I have always had the idea of a sequel looming in my head, so I needn't worry. Doubtless, I will write one, and I already have a few ideas up my sleeve, but it might take a while to hammer them out into something remotely resembling a plot. I also have a few ideas in regards to a semi-sequel for Drunken Missions, but we'll see how that goes.. I hope all you out there who were egging for some Reffie-ness aren't about to jump out of your seats and kill me for leaving it here, so open-ended, but it was intended. I always had meant for this story to end here, to leave it open to your interpretation, with also plenty of room for a sequel to be made – which it will. As always, feel free to tell me what you think – I thrive off reviews!
Riyue: Yes, and the final chapter… I hope you liked it!
Eternal Wanderer: Again, thank you for you email, and your reviews! Thanks for the comments on Rude and Elena's characterization – you're right about Reeve, he doesn't really have enough presence to be built upon… yet. I'm also glad you approve of my backstory, I was sincerely wondering how it was going to be received, even though I'd more than hinted at some of it. Classical? Reno and Yuffie? Lol. No, I don't think they are, really… more likely to do things their own way, and that's another reason why I ended the story here. Now do you see what I meant in my email back? Tell me what you think, huh?
Alixen: I'm glad you approve, what about this one?
Angel Yuffie: How about 3 chapters in 3 days? Thank you for the comments on Rude, Reeve and Elena's characterizations, it is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Tijuana Pirate: Wow, another great review! You spoil me so much with your comments! Yes, that last chapter was longer – but this final one was even longer again – did you notice? I wonder what you think of the ending, since you are a die-hard Reffie fan? I hope you're not too disappointed, or ready to kill me, huh? Lol… If so, the next story might be a long time in coming… I'm glad you also liked the completion of Reno's background – I thought I had better finally answer all those questions, not to mention give the readers more food for thought about why he is what he is (not to mention more ammo for future stories)…And you are more than welcome for the quick updates! I've left you guys hanging in the past with both Word of Mouth and Smoke and Shattered Mirrors, so I'm only too happy to get these last chapters out faster. As always, tell me what you think, I always look forward to your reviews! I hope you enjoyed the story, and this last chapter, though it may have been a little disappointing to your Reffie side… but as I said… endings are sometimes nothing more than a new beginning… .
Sors: Thank you for reading, and especially for reviewing! It's always good to have another reader! Hope you enjoyed it!
Well then, since I can't really say, 'see you next update', I guess I'll have to settle for 'see you next story', huh? I hope you all enjoyed it, (and, again, aren't ready to kill me for the ending, as I'm kind of concerned as to how that will be received)! Thanks to all those who have bothered to read this story, and even more to those who have reviewed and hung through the entire thing! All your comments and criticism are appreciated, and I enjoy your feedback!
Until next time, which I hope won't be too far away…
Ealinesse!