-Disclaimer- I don't own Final Fantasy Seven, nor do I own its places and characters. I own this Fic.
Part Four: Hidden Agendas
Reno, who'd been waiting impatiently outside the door at the sound of the scream, burst back in, splitting the thin wood in the process.
The sight froze him.
Two pairs of eyes were on the red-haired ex-Turk, one a crimson, pleading look, and the other an emerald glare. The green ones had stopped him, and they glowed in the darkness. The light clicked on and he almost swooned in shock.
Green Mako eyes.
Long silver hair.
The Masamune and SOLDIER uniform, as if he'd never been touched.
"Sephiroth." It was a low rasp coming from somewhere deep inside Reno, and he was prepared for a fight.
Sephiroth removed his hand from Tifa's mouth and straightened himself with a grin, looking directly at Reno. "You look surprised, Drannor."
A sharp breath jutted out of Tifa in place of the earlier scream, her throat suddenly dry. That was the last person she'd expected to be on the other side of the arm, and she was scared out of her mind.
"What the fuck?" Reno hissed, pulling out his mag-rod with one swift movement.
Sephiroth arched a thin brow, his face darkening into a frown. "I see Tseng forgot to inform you of my. . .visit. Very well. If you must know, I am here to help you in this situation you and Lockheart have wound up in. Killing me would be the wrong choice."
Reno didn't look satisfied. "Sephiroth's dead! Who're you?!"
"Indeed I am," came the curt reply, Sephiroth sitting down on the bed as if he were living there himself. He smirked and patted Tifa's shoulder, the young woman apparently very frightened. He cursed himself for not informing Tifa himself. "Maybe I should explain a bit further," he offered, nodding to the open side of the bed.
Reno stayed put.
Sephiroth shrugged and started. "The Lifestream is of course where one goes when they return to the Planet. No news to you, correct? But there is a loophole. If someone had a large enough impact in life, and died an unclean death, they will have the clearance to continue life, if they promise to change."
Tifa was sitting up now, her feeling of sickness returning. She listened intently, though, knowing she would probably need to know this, truth or not.
"As odd as it seems, I do intend to change. If this were a simple arrest they want you for, believe me, I wouldn't be here at all. Wutai is extremely strict, and especially when one of their own is killed. You being the suspects, I believe you two have gotten caught up in something horrible, and I'm here to stop it," the deceased General said calmly, his eyes holding no hint of betrayal for once.
"Liar," Reno accused abruptly.
"A not uncommon reaction," Sephiroth replied, still as calm as always, but his green orbs did seem to be focused mainly on Tifa. "If I may voice my opinion, we need to all sleep on this. It would help. However, I need to speak with you, Drannor."
Just the way his penetrating gaze hit Reno's made him nod, still intimidated by the man. Like it or not, he knew this was probably the truth, if Tseng could speak to him from beyond the grave.
"Sleep well, Lockheart," Sephiroth dismissed himself without looking at her, standing up and striding from the room.
"I'll be in here tonight, I guess. Just. . .gimme a few minutes," Reno muttered with a forced smile, following Sephiroth.
The tall man had already placed himself on the other couch next to a blanket, hands clasped infront of himself. "I trust Tseng did tell you of my visit."
Reno nodded, a knot tight in his stomach from lying infront of Tifa. He'd known all along, and had been told when to expect the man.
"You put on a nice show," he went on.
"What do you want?" Reno blurted out, not wanting Sephiroth around all that much.
Sephiroth's eyes held a bit of pain, as if he were remembering some terrible scene. He waited a moment before replying, "You have Tousaz's number, I presume?"
=========================================================================
It wasn't long before Reno came back in, his face a ghastly white.
Tifa sat up again, looking at him with furrowed brows. "Reno? Something wrong?"
Reno didn't reply, only clicked off the light as if she weren't there and almost threw himself carelessly under the blankets, his stomach feeling as if he'd had ice poured down his throat.
His next question came out much softer than he had planned after he'd flipped on his side to face Tifa. "How do you honestly feel about me?"
Tifa was caught completely off-guard, looking at him with an expression of confusion. Truly, she didn't know exactly what he meant. "What?" A hand grabbed hers, a new-found urgency in Reno's eyes. Tifa shivered inwardly.
His skin was icy to the touch.
"You can think on it all you want, but. . .I know it's odd, but I need an answer soon," Reno said softly, the echoing voice of Sephiroth bouncing off the insides of his mind.
This was nothing like the Reno Drannor who'd dropped the Plate onto Sector Seven years before, more of a child-like version of him. There was a hint of fear in his voice, and pleading evident in his steel-colored eyes. She knew what he was getting at now, and he could've just as well said:
'Do you love me, or do you regret coming?'
Tifa just stared at him for a moment more before lowering herself to the pillows, and if she'd cared, she would've thought that a bed felt good compared to a couch, but Reno still looked expectant.
But she had no answer for him, sadly, as much as she wanted to say the first thing her mind had provided. She had no way of telling whether that was the truth or not, and the sudden question had come at her like a train.
Looking at him more closely, she noticed he had managed to calm down a bit, but he still had a tight grip on her hand and was cold as ever.
"It's rushed, I know. Like I said, you don't have to say a thing right away, but I gotta know," Reno said with a sigh, smiling a bit weakly.
Tifa wanted nothing more than to leap on him and blurt out the truth then and there, but something held her back. Maybe she held a bit of doubt, but what she finally concluded was that she had no clue how Reno felt. He'd once talked about a 'wall.'
"How d'you feel?" she finally managed to ask.
Reno let out an unsuppressable chuckle at this, but it soon turned into a low hiss, his voice failing him. He knew how he felt. He now knew he probably couldn't live without her around. The wall had somehow been blown to dust by the woman who laid next to him now, something he'd doubted would ever happen.
"I'm pretty sure you already know," the man replied, speaking in a tone that ended the conversation. He turned over onto his other side, sighing shakily.
Tifa stared at the back of his head for a moment, still slightly surprised by his question. And now she knew exactly how he did feel about her, which only added to her uneasiness.
She was sure she mirrored Reno's smirk as she inched over to him, placing one arm around his shoulder and another under his arm, resting her head on his shoulder as he'd done a few times before. His suit smelled from not being washed lately, but she couldn't say much better about her own clothes, and she was sure he was already asleep.
She said a single line softly into his ear, one she wasn't even sure if she meant and one she knew he didn't hear. "I bet you can figure it out, too."
=========================================================================
Sephiroth stealthily moved through the alleys, his Mako eyes darting around. He knew there would be a scene if he was spotted, and wasn't up for that right now. He had other things on his mind freshly delivered from the Lifestream.
"Thirty-nine," he kept muttering over and over again, his gaze scanning all of the tall buildings around him before he finally came upon the address and casually strode for the front doors.
This particular building was still dwarfed by the ShinRa Building, but it was big for Junon. It was brightly lit, only streetlights the other source that he could find. He started toward the doors before a voice cut him off, cold from the shadows beside the entrance.
"I'm dreaming."
Sephiroth smirked and looked over to see a woman staring at him. "Tousaz. You're alive, I see."
Her eyes were almost a combination between his own and Aeris', a shocking green that stood out in a crowd. Red hair fell down her back and ended in a tie. She wasn't as tall as him, but taller than Tifa by about three inches. She had an almost reptillian tongue, seen between her teeth when she spoke.
"Don't you use first names?" She had gotten over the surprise, having received a call from the General an hour or so earlier and hearing his story.
"Not really," Sephiroth replied, following her as she led him around the building and into a garage, large and empty.
Her full name was Katedona Tousaz, and he knew that, but even so, it was a habit to use last names only. Looking the woman over, he couldn't help but notice she went coatless, wearing only a red vest over a black, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of red, armylike pants.
"So, what d'you need from me?" Kate queried, leaning on one wall of the building. She was skipping work to come here, but she had felt it worthwhile just to meet up with him again.
"SOLDIERs."
She was taken aback by the reply, but Kate was quick to shoot back, "Why?"
"Also, I will need a map of the entire city, from sewers to alleys," he went on, ignoring her question. "Now, I cannot pull this off too fast nor too slow, or else any hopes of success will be demolished."
"Why do you need SOLDIERs?" Kate demanded, hands on her hips and balled into fists.
Sephiroth looked at her as if seeing a giant boulder heading for him, puzzled and a little offended. A grin slowly curled his lips, a glint in his eyes. "A mission."
Their talk went fast, and neither one saw the thing moving through the shadows.
=========================================================================
Navi scratched her head for the millionth time that morning about three weeks later, sure her scalp was going to fall off. She had woken up to see her computer on and a new file up, this one of an unmistakeable Mako-eyed man.
What puzzled her was the newest date in the FOXX File, which read:
Sighted in Junon.
She shook her head and sighed. It was obvious Riley or Xion had hacked into her files to mess with her, she was sure of it.
"It's all right, y'know."
Navi made a screeching sound at the voice, then turned to see Reno, looking serious, but she seemed skeptical. "I'm sure."
Reno heard the more-than-a-hint of sarcasm in her voice, and just shrugged, knowing he had his proof as the door swung open and Navi went absolutely white. "Have a nice outing?" he asked, turning to face Sephiroth.
"Yes, but I believe we may need to get your friend to start breathing again, Drannor," the other replied, nodding toward Navi.
True, Navi did look a bit comical, but she was making slight choking noises in her throat when Reno noticed it. "Wake up," he snapped, waving a hand infront of her eyes.
She could only make fragments of sentences. "He. . .dead. . .how. . .killed. . .AVALANCHE. . .here?"
Sephiroth sighed and shook his head, sitting on the couch and just barely missing the lump under the blanket next to him. "Yes, I am dead, yes, AVALANCHE did kill me, and yes, I am sitting here talking to you. I'm just here for a kind of visit," he explained with a dismissive wave, perking his interest as the blanket moved and groaned.
Navi still looked like she was in the dark about all of it, and he made a mental note to tell her about it later.
"I. . .knew it!" the blanket screeched, Xion's eyes lit as he popped up.
Sephiroth backed up a bit and arched a thin brow at the young boy, who seemed to be very awake. "Knew what?" he asked as if he'd lived there forever.
"I knew it was you! I've read about every book written on you! I almost joined the SOLDIER program because of you!" Xion screeched, looking like a complete loon.
This was all a surprise for a blurry-eyed Tifa, who stood just inside the entryway for the room. She knew she must've looked terrible, for she could feel her hair in knots. She looked at Xion, or the hazed figure of him, having just learned he looked up to Sephiroth with admiration instead of hatred.
Tifa also looked at Reno a bit differently, not even listening as the four continued in their conversation, and made a note to herself to admit it to him when the opportunity arose.
She glanced back to Sephiroth, who had really seemed to have changed a bit. She didn't hear the question she was asked before Reno repeated it.
"Up for a walk?"
Tifa looked at him and nodded quickly, a faint smile pulling at her lips.
Reno just nodded and led her out, wanting to blurt out all of Sephiroth's plans then and there to her. Another thing he wanted to do was to fry the man on the end of his mag-rod, but he was under the thumb of Sephiroth.
Reno had assured Sephiroth he would keep silent, and he had done so for the past three weeks.
Sephiroth had promised Reno to keep the feds away from him in return.
It all made Reno Drannor sick.
"Something wrong?"
He snapped from his daydreaming to see Tifa looking up to him, a confused look in her eyes. He managed a grin, not being able to pry his gaze from her. He still needed an answer, but was reluctant, knowing Sephiroth would need to know about it, too.
"I'm fine. Guess I didn't get enough sleep or somethin'," he muttered, lying to her once again. He moved forward at a quicker pace now. He finally came to a flight of stairs and ascended, coming out into the morning light of Junon.
After a few deep breaths of real air, he was on his way again, making sure Tifa was behind him at all times. He was on a course for Zan's bar, knowing he should at least pay the man a visit sometime.
Talk was light as they went through the streets, Tifa hanging like a child on Reno's arm. They did this nearly every day, but nothing had happened yet, and Wutai seemed to be gone.
"You know very well how I feel about you."
Reno pretended he hadn't heard the soft voice of Tifa, but he nearly swooned.
You heard her wrong. . . You heard her wrong. . .
This proved to no avail, however, as she repeated the same thing, now gripping his arm a bit harder to grab some attention.
Reno looked at the young woman next to him, feigning confusion. "How's that?" he queried, starting back toward Zan's bar. They were close, and maybe once they were inside, she'd forget about it.
"You're playing stupid," Tifa scolded.
Reno didn't reply, only wanted a shot of gin to rid his mouth of a new taste; one of deception.
Something that caught his eye caused him to jerk into an alley, making sure Tifa came with him, and pinned her against the brick wall with a devilish grin.
Tifa broke into a cold sweat, looking at him with wide eyes. What was this? Was she about to be killed? She did let out a small gasp of surprise as he made his order.
"Kiss me."
Now it was starting to get odd, but as much as she wanted to scream, Tifa felt herself doing the complete opposite; taking him up on the offer.
Reno felt a sense of his own surprise wash over him as their lips made contact, but he had to admit he had enjoyed the look on her face when he had instructed her to do that. He had released the kind of pressure he had put on her arms and a hand now rested on either of her hips.
Unlike what she might've anticipated, Reno wasn't as rough as he looked. Tifa found herself brought from life for a moment, and when she returned, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. This was so sudden, but it wasn't like she was complaining.
She'd figured this might happen.
Reno, feeling his own sense of pleasure on the other end of this, moved his hands slowly up to the edge of her shirt, but was cut off.
"OH, GAWD!!"
"We can finish later," Reno muttered to Tifa as he pulled back, a promise he intended to keep. Although that had just been a distraction, he had planned, he had to admit that by her reaction, he would've wound up finishing or close anyway.
Tifa, dazed out of her mind, just nodded and looked around, finally remembering the other sound. She froze when she looked down the alley, staring at a Wutai fed who looked extremely familiar.
"Yuffie?"
The young girl's eyelids were barely able to be seen as she stared at them, gun leveled at the head of Reno. She had no problem with killing him, but nothing could've prepared her for that. She looked as if she'd been stricken between the eyes with a hammer.
"The brat's a fed," Reno said with a click of his tongue, flipping his mag-rod out. "From stealing to confiscating. Well, I guess I can understand that."
Yuffie was still shocked. She looked at Tifa, forgetting her current position for the moment. "You're fucking serious?!"
"Are you gonna kill me, or not?" Reno asked loudly, giving the former Materia hunter a glare.
"I'm surprised I'm not blind!" Yuffie screeched in reply, ignoring the fact she was indeed supposed to kill him on sight.
Tifa, glad it was dark in the alley, was red as the blood coursing her veins. Yuffie was the last person she would've thought to be a fed, but it was embarrassing enough to be caught like that with anyone.
Reno'd had enough, and, by taking the element of surprise to his advantage, managed to get a firm blow in with the side of his mag-rod to Yuffie's side.
The young ninja shook her head and took off, knowing that she couldn't take Reno out alone, but also knowing that she couldn't let him die in Tifa's sight. Instead, she simply moved to the next alley to lie in wait.
"All the trash she talks, then she runs after a hit," Reno muttered, shaking his head and turning around. "Well, I doubt we can stay out here very long and live."
Tifa nodded in agreement, still uneasy. She had never guessed they'd be caught just taking a walk, but that didn't bother her. Nothing bothered her at the time.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his again as they started out of the alley.
Reno, smiling to himself, figured he should make more diversions in the future, and never felt the eyes from the shadows leave his back.
=========================================================================
Yuffie peeled off her fed suit, which was a fake anyway, and walked back into the stone building that awaited her, easily navigating through the winding corridors.
She had a bad feeling as she knocked on the door and was greeted with a grunt of permission for entrance.
The former AVALANCHE member had never been a fed, had been undercover as one who was undercover, in fact.
She walked in and sat at the chair she was usually seated in, findinf herself, not uncommonly, staring at the back of a chair and the windows infront of it. "Sir?" she called quietly.
"By your tone, I doubt you have good information, Kisaragi," the man hissed, turning around in his chair to give her a cold stare. "What is it?"
"I believe the target and the quarry may be. . .involved, Sir," Yuffie replied, hating using code, but knowing people could tap the wires. "Luckily, help, I am informed, has arrived."
No one could've missed the balled fists her boss had clenched as she spoke the first line, nor the murderous look in his eyes. "That will be all, Yuffie," he said through clenched teeth.
Yuffie was about to say he'd never called her by her name, but bit her tongue and asked something else. "Awaiting orders, Sir."
The man was silent for a time, but finally said, "See what 'Puppet' has to say."
Yuffie couldn't help but grin at the nickname, nodding and sismissing herself quickly.
As soon as she was gone, her surperior slammed the fists on his desk and picked up his identification, in the form of a glass orb with his name engraved on it on the side.
He stared at it for a moment, then hurled it suddenly at the wall, watching as it shattered into pieces.
He didn't deserve that name.
No.
Cloud Strife had died moments earlier.
Author's Note: I apologize, I thought I had this up before. Wondered why I had no reviews. . .part five up really soon.
-=Haze=-
.Exo. - 2003
Part Four: Hidden Agendas
Reno, who'd been waiting impatiently outside the door at the sound of the scream, burst back in, splitting the thin wood in the process.
The sight froze him.
Two pairs of eyes were on the red-haired ex-Turk, one a crimson, pleading look, and the other an emerald glare. The green ones had stopped him, and they glowed in the darkness. The light clicked on and he almost swooned in shock.
Green Mako eyes.
Long silver hair.
The Masamune and SOLDIER uniform, as if he'd never been touched.
"Sephiroth." It was a low rasp coming from somewhere deep inside Reno, and he was prepared for a fight.
Sephiroth removed his hand from Tifa's mouth and straightened himself with a grin, looking directly at Reno. "You look surprised, Drannor."
A sharp breath jutted out of Tifa in place of the earlier scream, her throat suddenly dry. That was the last person she'd expected to be on the other side of the arm, and she was scared out of her mind.
"What the fuck?" Reno hissed, pulling out his mag-rod with one swift movement.
Sephiroth arched a thin brow, his face darkening into a frown. "I see Tseng forgot to inform you of my. . .visit. Very well. If you must know, I am here to help you in this situation you and Lockheart have wound up in. Killing me would be the wrong choice."
Reno didn't look satisfied. "Sephiroth's dead! Who're you?!"
"Indeed I am," came the curt reply, Sephiroth sitting down on the bed as if he were living there himself. He smirked and patted Tifa's shoulder, the young woman apparently very frightened. He cursed himself for not informing Tifa himself. "Maybe I should explain a bit further," he offered, nodding to the open side of the bed.
Reno stayed put.
Sephiroth shrugged and started. "The Lifestream is of course where one goes when they return to the Planet. No news to you, correct? But there is a loophole. If someone had a large enough impact in life, and died an unclean death, they will have the clearance to continue life, if they promise to change."
Tifa was sitting up now, her feeling of sickness returning. She listened intently, though, knowing she would probably need to know this, truth or not.
"As odd as it seems, I do intend to change. If this were a simple arrest they want you for, believe me, I wouldn't be here at all. Wutai is extremely strict, and especially when one of their own is killed. You being the suspects, I believe you two have gotten caught up in something horrible, and I'm here to stop it," the deceased General said calmly, his eyes holding no hint of betrayal for once.
"Liar," Reno accused abruptly.
"A not uncommon reaction," Sephiroth replied, still as calm as always, but his green orbs did seem to be focused mainly on Tifa. "If I may voice my opinion, we need to all sleep on this. It would help. However, I need to speak with you, Drannor."
Just the way his penetrating gaze hit Reno's made him nod, still intimidated by the man. Like it or not, he knew this was probably the truth, if Tseng could speak to him from beyond the grave.
"Sleep well, Lockheart," Sephiroth dismissed himself without looking at her, standing up and striding from the room.
"I'll be in here tonight, I guess. Just. . .gimme a few minutes," Reno muttered with a forced smile, following Sephiroth.
The tall man had already placed himself on the other couch next to a blanket, hands clasped infront of himself. "I trust Tseng did tell you of my visit."
Reno nodded, a knot tight in his stomach from lying infront of Tifa. He'd known all along, and had been told when to expect the man.
"You put on a nice show," he went on.
"What do you want?" Reno blurted out, not wanting Sephiroth around all that much.
Sephiroth's eyes held a bit of pain, as if he were remembering some terrible scene. He waited a moment before replying, "You have Tousaz's number, I presume?"
=========================================================================
It wasn't long before Reno came back in, his face a ghastly white.
Tifa sat up again, looking at him with furrowed brows. "Reno? Something wrong?"
Reno didn't reply, only clicked off the light as if she weren't there and almost threw himself carelessly under the blankets, his stomach feeling as if he'd had ice poured down his throat.
His next question came out much softer than he had planned after he'd flipped on his side to face Tifa. "How do you honestly feel about me?"
Tifa was caught completely off-guard, looking at him with an expression of confusion. Truly, she didn't know exactly what he meant. "What?" A hand grabbed hers, a new-found urgency in Reno's eyes. Tifa shivered inwardly.
His skin was icy to the touch.
"You can think on it all you want, but. . .I know it's odd, but I need an answer soon," Reno said softly, the echoing voice of Sephiroth bouncing off the insides of his mind.
This was nothing like the Reno Drannor who'd dropped the Plate onto Sector Seven years before, more of a child-like version of him. There was a hint of fear in his voice, and pleading evident in his steel-colored eyes. She knew what he was getting at now, and he could've just as well said:
'Do you love me, or do you regret coming?'
Tifa just stared at him for a moment more before lowering herself to the pillows, and if she'd cared, she would've thought that a bed felt good compared to a couch, but Reno still looked expectant.
But she had no answer for him, sadly, as much as she wanted to say the first thing her mind had provided. She had no way of telling whether that was the truth or not, and the sudden question had come at her like a train.
Looking at him more closely, she noticed he had managed to calm down a bit, but he still had a tight grip on her hand and was cold as ever.
"It's rushed, I know. Like I said, you don't have to say a thing right away, but I gotta know," Reno said with a sigh, smiling a bit weakly.
Tifa wanted nothing more than to leap on him and blurt out the truth then and there, but something held her back. Maybe she held a bit of doubt, but what she finally concluded was that she had no clue how Reno felt. He'd once talked about a 'wall.'
"How d'you feel?" she finally managed to ask.
Reno let out an unsuppressable chuckle at this, but it soon turned into a low hiss, his voice failing him. He knew how he felt. He now knew he probably couldn't live without her around. The wall had somehow been blown to dust by the woman who laid next to him now, something he'd doubted would ever happen.
"I'm pretty sure you already know," the man replied, speaking in a tone that ended the conversation. He turned over onto his other side, sighing shakily.
Tifa stared at the back of his head for a moment, still slightly surprised by his question. And now she knew exactly how he did feel about her, which only added to her uneasiness.
She was sure she mirrored Reno's smirk as she inched over to him, placing one arm around his shoulder and another under his arm, resting her head on his shoulder as he'd done a few times before. His suit smelled from not being washed lately, but she couldn't say much better about her own clothes, and she was sure he was already asleep.
She said a single line softly into his ear, one she wasn't even sure if she meant and one she knew he didn't hear. "I bet you can figure it out, too."
=========================================================================
Sephiroth stealthily moved through the alleys, his Mako eyes darting around. He knew there would be a scene if he was spotted, and wasn't up for that right now. He had other things on his mind freshly delivered from the Lifestream.
"Thirty-nine," he kept muttering over and over again, his gaze scanning all of the tall buildings around him before he finally came upon the address and casually strode for the front doors.
This particular building was still dwarfed by the ShinRa Building, but it was big for Junon. It was brightly lit, only streetlights the other source that he could find. He started toward the doors before a voice cut him off, cold from the shadows beside the entrance.
"I'm dreaming."
Sephiroth smirked and looked over to see a woman staring at him. "Tousaz. You're alive, I see."
Her eyes were almost a combination between his own and Aeris', a shocking green that stood out in a crowd. Red hair fell down her back and ended in a tie. She wasn't as tall as him, but taller than Tifa by about three inches. She had an almost reptillian tongue, seen between her teeth when she spoke.
"Don't you use first names?" She had gotten over the surprise, having received a call from the General an hour or so earlier and hearing his story.
"Not really," Sephiroth replied, following her as she led him around the building and into a garage, large and empty.
Her full name was Katedona Tousaz, and he knew that, but even so, it was a habit to use last names only. Looking the woman over, he couldn't help but notice she went coatless, wearing only a red vest over a black, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of red, armylike pants.
"So, what d'you need from me?" Kate queried, leaning on one wall of the building. She was skipping work to come here, but she had felt it worthwhile just to meet up with him again.
"SOLDIERs."
She was taken aback by the reply, but Kate was quick to shoot back, "Why?"
"Also, I will need a map of the entire city, from sewers to alleys," he went on, ignoring her question. "Now, I cannot pull this off too fast nor too slow, or else any hopes of success will be demolished."
"Why do you need SOLDIERs?" Kate demanded, hands on her hips and balled into fists.
Sephiroth looked at her as if seeing a giant boulder heading for him, puzzled and a little offended. A grin slowly curled his lips, a glint in his eyes. "A mission."
Their talk went fast, and neither one saw the thing moving through the shadows.
=========================================================================
Navi scratched her head for the millionth time that morning about three weeks later, sure her scalp was going to fall off. She had woken up to see her computer on and a new file up, this one of an unmistakeable Mako-eyed man.
What puzzled her was the newest date in the FOXX File, which read:
Sighted in Junon.
She shook her head and sighed. It was obvious Riley or Xion had hacked into her files to mess with her, she was sure of it.
"It's all right, y'know."
Navi made a screeching sound at the voice, then turned to see Reno, looking serious, but she seemed skeptical. "I'm sure."
Reno heard the more-than-a-hint of sarcasm in her voice, and just shrugged, knowing he had his proof as the door swung open and Navi went absolutely white. "Have a nice outing?" he asked, turning to face Sephiroth.
"Yes, but I believe we may need to get your friend to start breathing again, Drannor," the other replied, nodding toward Navi.
True, Navi did look a bit comical, but she was making slight choking noises in her throat when Reno noticed it. "Wake up," he snapped, waving a hand infront of her eyes.
She could only make fragments of sentences. "He. . .dead. . .how. . .killed. . .AVALANCHE. . .here?"
Sephiroth sighed and shook his head, sitting on the couch and just barely missing the lump under the blanket next to him. "Yes, I am dead, yes, AVALANCHE did kill me, and yes, I am sitting here talking to you. I'm just here for a kind of visit," he explained with a dismissive wave, perking his interest as the blanket moved and groaned.
Navi still looked like she was in the dark about all of it, and he made a mental note to tell her about it later.
"I. . .knew it!" the blanket screeched, Xion's eyes lit as he popped up.
Sephiroth backed up a bit and arched a thin brow at the young boy, who seemed to be very awake. "Knew what?" he asked as if he'd lived there forever.
"I knew it was you! I've read about every book written on you! I almost joined the SOLDIER program because of you!" Xion screeched, looking like a complete loon.
This was all a surprise for a blurry-eyed Tifa, who stood just inside the entryway for the room. She knew she must've looked terrible, for she could feel her hair in knots. She looked at Xion, or the hazed figure of him, having just learned he looked up to Sephiroth with admiration instead of hatred.
Tifa also looked at Reno a bit differently, not even listening as the four continued in their conversation, and made a note to herself to admit it to him when the opportunity arose.
She glanced back to Sephiroth, who had really seemed to have changed a bit. She didn't hear the question she was asked before Reno repeated it.
"Up for a walk?"
Tifa looked at him and nodded quickly, a faint smile pulling at her lips.
Reno just nodded and led her out, wanting to blurt out all of Sephiroth's plans then and there to her. Another thing he wanted to do was to fry the man on the end of his mag-rod, but he was under the thumb of Sephiroth.
Reno had assured Sephiroth he would keep silent, and he had done so for the past three weeks.
Sephiroth had promised Reno to keep the feds away from him in return.
It all made Reno Drannor sick.
"Something wrong?"
He snapped from his daydreaming to see Tifa looking up to him, a confused look in her eyes. He managed a grin, not being able to pry his gaze from her. He still needed an answer, but was reluctant, knowing Sephiroth would need to know about it, too.
"I'm fine. Guess I didn't get enough sleep or somethin'," he muttered, lying to her once again. He moved forward at a quicker pace now. He finally came to a flight of stairs and ascended, coming out into the morning light of Junon.
After a few deep breaths of real air, he was on his way again, making sure Tifa was behind him at all times. He was on a course for Zan's bar, knowing he should at least pay the man a visit sometime.
Talk was light as they went through the streets, Tifa hanging like a child on Reno's arm. They did this nearly every day, but nothing had happened yet, and Wutai seemed to be gone.
"You know very well how I feel about you."
Reno pretended he hadn't heard the soft voice of Tifa, but he nearly swooned.
You heard her wrong. . . You heard her wrong. . .
This proved to no avail, however, as she repeated the same thing, now gripping his arm a bit harder to grab some attention.
Reno looked at the young woman next to him, feigning confusion. "How's that?" he queried, starting back toward Zan's bar. They were close, and maybe once they were inside, she'd forget about it.
"You're playing stupid," Tifa scolded.
Reno didn't reply, only wanted a shot of gin to rid his mouth of a new taste; one of deception.
Something that caught his eye caused him to jerk into an alley, making sure Tifa came with him, and pinned her against the brick wall with a devilish grin.
Tifa broke into a cold sweat, looking at him with wide eyes. What was this? Was she about to be killed? She did let out a small gasp of surprise as he made his order.
"Kiss me."
Now it was starting to get odd, but as much as she wanted to scream, Tifa felt herself doing the complete opposite; taking him up on the offer.
Reno felt a sense of his own surprise wash over him as their lips made contact, but he had to admit he had enjoyed the look on her face when he had instructed her to do that. He had released the kind of pressure he had put on her arms and a hand now rested on either of her hips.
Unlike what she might've anticipated, Reno wasn't as rough as he looked. Tifa found herself brought from life for a moment, and when she returned, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. This was so sudden, but it wasn't like she was complaining.
She'd figured this might happen.
Reno, feeling his own sense of pleasure on the other end of this, moved his hands slowly up to the edge of her shirt, but was cut off.
"OH, GAWD!!"
"We can finish later," Reno muttered to Tifa as he pulled back, a promise he intended to keep. Although that had just been a distraction, he had planned, he had to admit that by her reaction, he would've wound up finishing or close anyway.
Tifa, dazed out of her mind, just nodded and looked around, finally remembering the other sound. She froze when she looked down the alley, staring at a Wutai fed who looked extremely familiar.
"Yuffie?"
The young girl's eyelids were barely able to be seen as she stared at them, gun leveled at the head of Reno. She had no problem with killing him, but nothing could've prepared her for that. She looked as if she'd been stricken between the eyes with a hammer.
"The brat's a fed," Reno said with a click of his tongue, flipping his mag-rod out. "From stealing to confiscating. Well, I guess I can understand that."
Yuffie was still shocked. She looked at Tifa, forgetting her current position for the moment. "You're fucking serious?!"
"Are you gonna kill me, or not?" Reno asked loudly, giving the former Materia hunter a glare.
"I'm surprised I'm not blind!" Yuffie screeched in reply, ignoring the fact she was indeed supposed to kill him on sight.
Tifa, glad it was dark in the alley, was red as the blood coursing her veins. Yuffie was the last person she would've thought to be a fed, but it was embarrassing enough to be caught like that with anyone.
Reno'd had enough, and, by taking the element of surprise to his advantage, managed to get a firm blow in with the side of his mag-rod to Yuffie's side.
The young ninja shook her head and took off, knowing that she couldn't take Reno out alone, but also knowing that she couldn't let him die in Tifa's sight. Instead, she simply moved to the next alley to lie in wait.
"All the trash she talks, then she runs after a hit," Reno muttered, shaking his head and turning around. "Well, I doubt we can stay out here very long and live."
Tifa nodded in agreement, still uneasy. She had never guessed they'd be caught just taking a walk, but that didn't bother her. Nothing bothered her at the time.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his again as they started out of the alley.
Reno, smiling to himself, figured he should make more diversions in the future, and never felt the eyes from the shadows leave his back.
=========================================================================
Yuffie peeled off her fed suit, which was a fake anyway, and walked back into the stone building that awaited her, easily navigating through the winding corridors.
She had a bad feeling as she knocked on the door and was greeted with a grunt of permission for entrance.
The former AVALANCHE member had never been a fed, had been undercover as one who was undercover, in fact.
She walked in and sat at the chair she was usually seated in, findinf herself, not uncommonly, staring at the back of a chair and the windows infront of it. "Sir?" she called quietly.
"By your tone, I doubt you have good information, Kisaragi," the man hissed, turning around in his chair to give her a cold stare. "What is it?"
"I believe the target and the quarry may be. . .involved, Sir," Yuffie replied, hating using code, but knowing people could tap the wires. "Luckily, help, I am informed, has arrived."
No one could've missed the balled fists her boss had clenched as she spoke the first line, nor the murderous look in his eyes. "That will be all, Yuffie," he said through clenched teeth.
Yuffie was about to say he'd never called her by her name, but bit her tongue and asked something else. "Awaiting orders, Sir."
The man was silent for a time, but finally said, "See what 'Puppet' has to say."
Yuffie couldn't help but grin at the nickname, nodding and sismissing herself quickly.
As soon as she was gone, her surperior slammed the fists on his desk and picked up his identification, in the form of a glass orb with his name engraved on it on the side.
He stared at it for a moment, then hurled it suddenly at the wall, watching as it shattered into pieces.
He didn't deserve that name.
No.
Cloud Strife had died moments earlier.
Author's Note: I apologize, I thought I had this up before. Wondered why I had no reviews. . .part five up really soon.
-=Haze=-
.Exo. - 2003