Usual Disclaimers Apply
Breath Away
Chapter 4
The day Lady Yuffie Kisaragi had been dreading has finally arrived. She sat nervously in the car, between Vincent and Shake. The head of security of the conference had already briefed the ex-Turk, and as good as his plan sounded; there was a slight possibility that things could go wrong.
Always assume the worst situations, and come up with a plan to deal with it.
When the car parked, Yuffie looked outside the window and saw the entrance of the Conference Hall filled with many journalists, and saw many other delegates walking in. She gave a grin when she saw a familiar blond figure, walking next to a brunette.
The moment she got out of the car, Vincent shielded Yuffie with his body from the photographers. It was quite hard to ignore various questions about her relationship with Reeve. Yuffie was a few seconds away from retaliating a snappy comeback when Vincent's glare stopped her.
"Gawd, when will these people stop?" Yuffie muttered as they reached the safety of the building. She smoothed her skirt, and touched her silver headpiece, making sure it was still in place before walking along.
Tifa Lockheart beamed, almost in maternal pride as she watched Yuffie walk towards them, Her dress was of deep red color, mixed with oriental designs that showcased the wealth of Wutaian art. It was long, and covered the ex-materia hunter from head to foot, and the silver headpiece completed the look.
She was about to greet the girl when the organizer for the conference approached her and advised her that all participants were now being asked to take their seats. She saw Yuffie look at her, and Tifa noticed that she looked as if she was on the Highwind. She gave the girl a comforting smile, which Yuffie returned. She looked in interest as Vincent followed Yuffie inside.
"Hey, what's Vincent doing with Yuffie?"
Tifa turned to look at Cloud. "Don't you remember? Lord Godo hired him as Yuffie's bodyguard after that whole fiasco with Cait Sith..."
Cloud grinned. "I remember now!"
"Look, there's Reeve!" Cloud whispered, and pointed to where the President of Shinra Inc was seating, a few tables away from Yuffie, looking very nervous; and of course, seated behind him were Rude and Elena, and Cloud briefly wondered where Reno was. He felt Tifa stiffen as another figure walked in the room, and was led to the far right side.
Alec Kitani and his associates walked in the room, and Cloud followed his gaze, and narrowed his eyes when he realized that Alec was looking at Yuffie. /Can one man be so dense? She doesn't like you, asshole! Give it up!/
As all the participants started to take their seats, Tifa felt a chill in her body. Almost the same one she felt when she was waiting for the assassin to strike during Yuffie's coronation. Something was going to go wrong...
The lights dimmed, and the Mako Conference began.
Yuffie felt her palms sweat as the attention was focused on her. She waited for the onslaught of questions to begin when she finished her speech. Each participant were allowed ten to fifteen minute of speech, with five minutes for question and answer time.
"Lady Kisaragi, do you deny your affair with the President of Shinra Inc? Isn't your participation here purely out of self-interest?"
Yuffie's hand twitched for her conformer. "I have nothing to deny. President Reeve has been a friend of mine for a long time; my only interest is for the safety of Wutai and the rest of the planet. You have seen what the mako reactors have done to the planet. We cannot allow for the same mistake to happen twice."
"Weren't you part of that terrorist group, AVALANCHE?"
"I never denied that I was part of AVALANCHE, and we are not a terrorist organization."
Yuffie replied, imagining in her head what this idiot would look life after a she pounded him.
The speaker just smirked, and another person stood up to ask another question.
"Your little group is responsible for the deaths of many..."
Yuffie's temper snapped. "We never made excuses for the things we have done. It was war, and as I recall, your company was the biggest supplier of weapons to the SOLDIERS of the old Shinra regime. All of us have our hands stained."
The representative from that company turned red at Yuffie's outburst, even more so when his gaze shifted to the other members of AVALANCHE present in the meeting.
Why he agreed to Alec Kitani's plan, he would never know. True, Lady Kisaragi looked more like a spoilt princess, but the expression on her face now was cold, and her eyes was still settled on him, and he could no nothing but sit back, and let another delegate ask another question.
A few minutes later, Yuffie's anger has not yet subsided. Luckily, the rest of the questions were more relevant to the topic, rather than questions that were meant to make her look like a fool. Her eyes narrowed as Alec Kitani walked up the stage, and the lights dimmed slightly to signal the beginning of another speaker. He looked so smug; Yuffie wished that he'd fall flat on his face.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I come before you as the President of Kitani Corp...."
He was halfway through his speech when everything went completely black. Vincent Valentine tensed, his hand on his gun as he listened closely to his surroundings. There was slight confusion when the projector turned on.
What came next was an absolute surprise.
"... I told you not to take part in the assassination! I told you!"
It was Alec Kitani and his secretary, on the big screen.
"They have nothing!" Alec spat as he looked around them. "They have no proof I'm involve, if they know what's good for them, those stupid bounty hunters won't talk."
"And the council?"
"Don't worry about that, already took care of it..."
The scene stopped and all the lights turned back on, and everything was silent.
"It was *you?*" Yuffie cried out in surprise. The once quiet hall erupted with noise as Alec Kitani gained his composure and denied the validity of that tape.
"This is an outrage! I would never plot against Wutai!" He cried out, and once again, the lights dimmed and the projector turned on once more to continue the rest of his conversation with his secretary.
The media gallery was in total chaos as the lights turned on again, and was crazily snapping away. All looked disappointed as they noticed that Lady Yuffie Kisaragi was no longer in the hall. Tifa looked worried as she looked at Cloud who soothed her fears.
"She's with Vincent, remember? He must have taken her out already when the second show began.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of red and blue, and he turned to see Reno with a cigarette in his hands, carefully watching the scenery from the edge of the media gallery. Their eyes met, and Reno gave Cloud a mocking salute before turning his attention back to the commotion on stage.
Barret Wallace didn't know if he should laugh at the stupidity of Alec Kitani, or blow the man's brains off. Did he really think he could mess with a member of AVALANCHE and get away with it? He looked at Cloud, who simply shook his head. On stage, Alec was already ushered out by his own security, and the first Mako Conference went down in smoke.
*-*-
"Vinnie, I can't walk fast in this stupid dress!" Yuffie complained as Vincent walked behind her, he was so close, that Yuffie felt that she was going to trip on his feet.
Vincent didn't slow down. He knew the importance of getting Yuffie out of the building. He had his suspicion, the same suspicion Reno has harbored. He's got to hand it to Reno. He remembered a similar scenario when he first entered the Turks so many years ago...
"Vinnie, slow down!"
They were already outside, and Shake was in the car waiting for them. Yuffie grumbled as she climbed inside the car with Vincent close behind. "We didn't have to go, you know! I wanted to punch that idiot! And he claims that he loves me! Gawd, what a psycho... of course he was never telling the truth, and Godo! Ha! He was so approving of that jerk..."
Vincent and Shake simply listened at Yuffie's tirade, each lost at their own thoughts.
*-*-
Elena didn't know what to think. She had an idea on what Reno was plotting when he first asked for copies of the tape, but still, seeing it was different. There was a nagging feeling inside of her that was saying what they did was just going to make things worse. She looked at Rude who entered their suite without Reno.
"Where's Reno?"
"Don't ask." Rude replied as he took his sunglasses off and sat on the couch. "How did everything go?"
"Cloud left with Tifa and Barrett, Kitani was ushered off elsewhere. Reeve's working on Caith Sith, again..."
"Again?"
Elena nodded. "Said that he's got something he wants to do with the mog."
They fell into silence until Rude's PHS rang. "Rude."
Elena watched as Rude listen to the other end before ending the connection. "That was Reno, he said that he'll meet us back at Midgar on Monday."
"But it's only Wednesday... what are we going to do till then?"
Rude smiled. "I can think of something."
And probably for the first few times in her life, Elena was speechless.
*-*-
Alec Kitani screamed in pure rage as he threw his beer bottle on the wall. His secretary remained silent in the background as Alec continued to trash his office. He picked his phone up and dialed a number.
"Do it! I want Wutai burned to the ground before the sun sets tomorrow!"
"Sir..."
He never got a chance to finish his protest as he was shot right through the heart.
*End Chapter*
Thanks to all your comments for all my fics! So... the action begins soon. Hope this doesn't sound to rushed... I will change the rating for Family Affair. The reason it was R was that there may be some segments later on that would require a higher rating. I guess I'll just cross the bridge when I get there... or however the saying goes!
Breath Away
Chapter 4
The day Lady Yuffie Kisaragi had been dreading has finally arrived. She sat nervously in the car, between Vincent and Shake. The head of security of the conference had already briefed the ex-Turk, and as good as his plan sounded; there was a slight possibility that things could go wrong.
Always assume the worst situations, and come up with a plan to deal with it.
When the car parked, Yuffie looked outside the window and saw the entrance of the Conference Hall filled with many journalists, and saw many other delegates walking in. She gave a grin when she saw a familiar blond figure, walking next to a brunette.
The moment she got out of the car, Vincent shielded Yuffie with his body from the photographers. It was quite hard to ignore various questions about her relationship with Reeve. Yuffie was a few seconds away from retaliating a snappy comeback when Vincent's glare stopped her.
"Gawd, when will these people stop?" Yuffie muttered as they reached the safety of the building. She smoothed her skirt, and touched her silver headpiece, making sure it was still in place before walking along.
Tifa Lockheart beamed, almost in maternal pride as she watched Yuffie walk towards them, Her dress was of deep red color, mixed with oriental designs that showcased the wealth of Wutaian art. It was long, and covered the ex-materia hunter from head to foot, and the silver headpiece completed the look.
She was about to greet the girl when the organizer for the conference approached her and advised her that all participants were now being asked to take their seats. She saw Yuffie look at her, and Tifa noticed that she looked as if she was on the Highwind. She gave the girl a comforting smile, which Yuffie returned. She looked in interest as Vincent followed Yuffie inside.
"Hey, what's Vincent doing with Yuffie?"
Tifa turned to look at Cloud. "Don't you remember? Lord Godo hired him as Yuffie's bodyguard after that whole fiasco with Cait Sith..."
Cloud grinned. "I remember now!"
"Look, there's Reeve!" Cloud whispered, and pointed to where the President of Shinra Inc was seating, a few tables away from Yuffie, looking very nervous; and of course, seated behind him were Rude and Elena, and Cloud briefly wondered where Reno was. He felt Tifa stiffen as another figure walked in the room, and was led to the far right side.
Alec Kitani and his associates walked in the room, and Cloud followed his gaze, and narrowed his eyes when he realized that Alec was looking at Yuffie. /Can one man be so dense? She doesn't like you, asshole! Give it up!/
As all the participants started to take their seats, Tifa felt a chill in her body. Almost the same one she felt when she was waiting for the assassin to strike during Yuffie's coronation. Something was going to go wrong...
The lights dimmed, and the Mako Conference began.
Yuffie felt her palms sweat as the attention was focused on her. She waited for the onslaught of questions to begin when she finished her speech. Each participant were allowed ten to fifteen minute of speech, with five minutes for question and answer time.
"Lady Kisaragi, do you deny your affair with the President of Shinra Inc? Isn't your participation here purely out of self-interest?"
Yuffie's hand twitched for her conformer. "I have nothing to deny. President Reeve has been a friend of mine for a long time; my only interest is for the safety of Wutai and the rest of the planet. You have seen what the mako reactors have done to the planet. We cannot allow for the same mistake to happen twice."
"Weren't you part of that terrorist group, AVALANCHE?"
"I never denied that I was part of AVALANCHE, and we are not a terrorist organization."
Yuffie replied, imagining in her head what this idiot would look life after a she pounded him.
The speaker just smirked, and another person stood up to ask another question.
"Your little group is responsible for the deaths of many..."
Yuffie's temper snapped. "We never made excuses for the things we have done. It was war, and as I recall, your company was the biggest supplier of weapons to the SOLDIERS of the old Shinra regime. All of us have our hands stained."
The representative from that company turned red at Yuffie's outburst, even more so when his gaze shifted to the other members of AVALANCHE present in the meeting.
Why he agreed to Alec Kitani's plan, he would never know. True, Lady Kisaragi looked more like a spoilt princess, but the expression on her face now was cold, and her eyes was still settled on him, and he could no nothing but sit back, and let another delegate ask another question.
A few minutes later, Yuffie's anger has not yet subsided. Luckily, the rest of the questions were more relevant to the topic, rather than questions that were meant to make her look like a fool. Her eyes narrowed as Alec Kitani walked up the stage, and the lights dimmed slightly to signal the beginning of another speaker. He looked so smug; Yuffie wished that he'd fall flat on his face.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I come before you as the President of Kitani Corp...."
He was halfway through his speech when everything went completely black. Vincent Valentine tensed, his hand on his gun as he listened closely to his surroundings. There was slight confusion when the projector turned on.
What came next was an absolute surprise.
"... I told you not to take part in the assassination! I told you!"
It was Alec Kitani and his secretary, on the big screen.
"They have nothing!" Alec spat as he looked around them. "They have no proof I'm involve, if they know what's good for them, those stupid bounty hunters won't talk."
"And the council?"
"Don't worry about that, already took care of it..."
The scene stopped and all the lights turned back on, and everything was silent.
"It was *you?*" Yuffie cried out in surprise. The once quiet hall erupted with noise as Alec Kitani gained his composure and denied the validity of that tape.
"This is an outrage! I would never plot against Wutai!" He cried out, and once again, the lights dimmed and the projector turned on once more to continue the rest of his conversation with his secretary.
The media gallery was in total chaos as the lights turned on again, and was crazily snapping away. All looked disappointed as they noticed that Lady Yuffie Kisaragi was no longer in the hall. Tifa looked worried as she looked at Cloud who soothed her fears.
"She's with Vincent, remember? He must have taken her out already when the second show began.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of red and blue, and he turned to see Reno with a cigarette in his hands, carefully watching the scenery from the edge of the media gallery. Their eyes met, and Reno gave Cloud a mocking salute before turning his attention back to the commotion on stage.
Barret Wallace didn't know if he should laugh at the stupidity of Alec Kitani, or blow the man's brains off. Did he really think he could mess with a member of AVALANCHE and get away with it? He looked at Cloud, who simply shook his head. On stage, Alec was already ushered out by his own security, and the first Mako Conference went down in smoke.
*-*-
"Vinnie, I can't walk fast in this stupid dress!" Yuffie complained as Vincent walked behind her, he was so close, that Yuffie felt that she was going to trip on his feet.
Vincent didn't slow down. He knew the importance of getting Yuffie out of the building. He had his suspicion, the same suspicion Reno has harbored. He's got to hand it to Reno. He remembered a similar scenario when he first entered the Turks so many years ago...
"Vinnie, slow down!"
They were already outside, and Shake was in the car waiting for them. Yuffie grumbled as she climbed inside the car with Vincent close behind. "We didn't have to go, you know! I wanted to punch that idiot! And he claims that he loves me! Gawd, what a psycho... of course he was never telling the truth, and Godo! Ha! He was so approving of that jerk..."
Vincent and Shake simply listened at Yuffie's tirade, each lost at their own thoughts.
*-*-
Elena didn't know what to think. She had an idea on what Reno was plotting when he first asked for copies of the tape, but still, seeing it was different. There was a nagging feeling inside of her that was saying what they did was just going to make things worse. She looked at Rude who entered their suite without Reno.
"Where's Reno?"
"Don't ask." Rude replied as he took his sunglasses off and sat on the couch. "How did everything go?"
"Cloud left with Tifa and Barrett, Kitani was ushered off elsewhere. Reeve's working on Caith Sith, again..."
"Again?"
Elena nodded. "Said that he's got something he wants to do with the mog."
They fell into silence until Rude's PHS rang. "Rude."
Elena watched as Rude listen to the other end before ending the connection. "That was Reno, he said that he'll meet us back at Midgar on Monday."
"But it's only Wednesday... what are we going to do till then?"
Rude smiled. "I can think of something."
And probably for the first few times in her life, Elena was speechless.
*-*-
Alec Kitani screamed in pure rage as he threw his beer bottle on the wall. His secretary remained silent in the background as Alec continued to trash his office. He picked his phone up and dialed a number.
"Do it! I want Wutai burned to the ground before the sun sets tomorrow!"
"Sir..."
He never got a chance to finish his protest as he was shot right through the heart.
*End Chapter*
Thanks to all your comments for all my fics! So... the action begins soon. Hope this doesn't sound to rushed... I will change the rating for Family Affair. The reason it was R was that there may be some segments later on that would require a higher rating. I guess I'll just cross the bridge when I get there... or however the saying goes!