After the Storm
Chapter 4
Finally, they were both back on their feet. It had been a long wait for both Yuffie and Reno, but they were finally more less ready to hit the road again. It had taken another four days for the both of them to get back the strength they'd lost, but the time was finally right.
To Yuffie, it was like a dream come true. The last four days stuck in a cabin with only Reno for company had been. . . interesting to say the least. She just wasn't able to figure where she stood with him. One moment they were swearing loudly at one another screaming about how they couldn't wait to get outta there, the next they were collapsing on the floor doubled over laughing.
There was no time for regrets, however, as they searched the cabin one last time for anything else that might be useful along the way. So far they'd turned up two sleeping rolls - presumably the second had been for emergencies - the blanket, a package of matches, a large backpack and enough food to last them the couple day's trip to Wutai.
To Reno's great horror, the pack of cigarettes he'd had during the shipwreck had washed up on the beach, totally soaked and ruined. He'd taken it as a personal insult and spent the rest of the day grumbling about it. To top it all off, there wasn't a drop of alcohol in the cabin.
Anyway, they were both glad to be returning to civilization, and the final preparations were made with great rejoicing. And so, it was without reluctance that Yuffie stepped out onto the porch one last time and watched Reno shut the door behind him. They were on their way.
By Reno's estimate they were about a two day's walk from Wutai, and there would be some minor hiking involved. This was perfectly fine with Yuffie, who had grown up hiking the Wutaian mountains. She was quite looking forward to it, to be perfectly honest with herself. She looked out over the little forest with a grin, it was sort of like meeting an old friend. Reno shot a questioning look.
"You seem to be taking this walking thing pretty well."
"Sure. Why? What were you expecting?"
"Oh, I dunno. . . I just seem to remember a whiny ninja chick who couldn't do anything without complaining."
He dodged her slap with a smirk. Yuffie couldn't help but smile back . "Well. . . Maybe. But that was a long time ago. I've done a lot since then, so give me a break."
"Babe, you helped save the world. I think that's as big a break as you can get."
Bantering between them, they had walked off into the forest. Yuffie carried the huge backpack and Reno with the two sleeping bags slung across his back. His bright hair was tied back in the typical ponytail, but it never seemed to stay there. Just like the rest of him it seemed to prefer unruliness. Yuffie's hands itched to brush it out of his face, but she kept that thought to herself.
The path they took led into the forest and away from the beach. Yuffie hadn't been back since that Day, and didn't plan on it. Of course she'd heard all about Reno's cigarettes with great amusement, but she had resisted all his attempts to get her to go beachcombing with him.
This particular path led northwards. Yuffie had an excellent sense of direction and was able to keep them going straight whenever the path faded out due to lack of use. Reno wasn't bad himself, just not used to tramping through the wilderness. Even so, he carefully kept pace with Yuffie and they talked about the time's they'd spent together three years ago. The most memorable was the Wutai incident, of course.
Reno was laughing.
"How could I ever forget? The proud lady of Wutai hung up by her ankles!" Yuffie laughed along with him.
"It was my own fault too. I was so lucky that Cloud was there to save me from that icky old man." She sobered for a moment. ". . .Reno, if it was us you had been after, would you have dropped me off that cliff?"
"It was you I was after."
"Don't avoid the question."
Reno hesitated a moment before answering truthfully.
". . .Yes." They were both silent for the next few minutes until Yuffie broke the stillness.
"Reno?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you still now?"
"Why does it matter?"
"I. . . don't know. I just have to know the truth."
Reno thought about it as he walked. Pointed question indeed.
"You know, I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that one."
Yuffie smiled faintly and let the question drop.
It was a beautiful day for a walk, and about noon they came upon a small river. It was just a little too wide to jump, and it looked like it went on in both directions for a long ways. It sparkled in the sunshine and made Yuffie squeal with delight.
She ran to the water's edge and surveyed the river. Small fish darted here and there, the light glittering on their silver scales. A little frog hid in the shadows of the reeds and Yuffie crouched down to watch him. Reno walked over and sighed. There didn't appear to be a bridge in sight, and the water was deep enough to get them both very wet.
Yuffie stood up again and looked across the river. Turning to face Reno she had a haughty air on her face.
"Good sir, the lady of Wutai has commandeered you to her purpose. She, er, I command you to carry me across this river."
Reno gave her a look, but an evil thought flashed through his mind. Putting on his best winsome smile, he strolled nonchalantly up to Yuffie.
"Oh, is that so? In that case I'll have to do something about it."
Without any warning, his arms snaked out and pushed her forward. With a surprised cry, Yuffie grabbed Reno's arm as she fell, effectively pulling him into the river after her.
They both came up a moment later, gasping for breath and laughing at the same time. The water was cool, but not unpleasant. Taking advantage of the situation, Yuffie raised her hand as if to fix her hair and then slapped it across the water's surface, sending a small wave Reno's way. Laughing, she swam away before he had a chance to react.
Narrowing his eyes, Reno caught sight of Yuffie stroking away. She was a good swimmer all right, but Reno knew he was better. With an evil smile he took a breath and dove under the water.
A moment later, Yuffie gasped as she felt something grab her ankle. In an instant she was pulled under the water. She felt two hands push down on her shoulders, sending her downwards and Reno up. He broke the surface and treaded water, grinning as Yuffie came floundering back up. She spat water and glared furiously at Reno.
"Why I oughtta . . ."
The fight lasted another ten minutes until they were both tired. Dragging themselves up the opposite side they lay in the sunshine panting as the warm light did it's best to take the worst of the water out of their clothes. As Yuffie tried to dry out, Reno decided he could live with wet clothes and swam back across the river to get the pack and the sleeping rolls.
When he'd brought them across, he and Yuffie made the best of it by having lunch on the sunny riverbank. All in all it was a pleasant hour spent.
After they had eaten, Yuffie turned her attention to the distant ridge against the sky.
"We should probably get going if we're ever going to get to Wutai. What d'you say to trying to reach the top of that ridge by tonight?"
Reno shaded his eyes against the sun and watched the ridge.
"You know what? You're on."
Jumping up Reno grabbed the sleeping bags and ran off in the general direction of the ridge. Scrambling to her feet, Yuffie grabbed the large bag and took off after him.
"Dammit Turkey, you're supposed to wait for me!"
* * * *
Early evening saw the pair of them climbing the ridge in question. Earlier on, Reno had hidden in the trees as Yuffie ran breathlessly past. He'd then taking great amusement in strolling up to her all composedly and being obvious about not commenting on the twigs and leaves in her hair. She'd almost killed him for that one and now it was time to repay the favor.
Yuffie climbed nimbly up the thin ledges with practiced ease. Down below her Reno was having a lot more difficulty and Yuffie grinned as she heard muffled cursing from somewhere further down.
"Hey, Turkey! You're gonna have to try harder then that!" She heard a thump.
"Ow! Bloody hell. . . look what you made me do. Wait up, will ya!?"
Laughing, Yuffie turned and scampered on ahead.
The sun was just setting over the horizon on their first day of the trek as Reno reached up to haul himself over the top of the ridge. To his great surprise he felt a hand take his instead. Pulling hard, Yuffie Helped Reno up and watched with sparkling eyes as he lay on the ground panting. Anyway, they wouldn't go much further tonight.
The last thing left to do was set up camp. It was an easy procedure; Reno lit the fire and Yuffie laid out the bed rolls. To Yuffie's complete surprise, Reno decided to cook dinner. Not that she'd wanted to, of course, but she'd sort of expected it anyway.
They sat around the fire, on their sleeping bags as the stars came out. Reno wanted to tell a ghost story, but Yuffie was adamantly refusing. She sort of liked sleep and there were a lot of shadows about. Instead, Reno threw Yuffie a question that caught her off guard.
"Hey, babe. Do you by any chance know a Mr. Hwen?" Yuffie looked up, wondering.
"Yeah, sure. He's one of the biggest parts of the reconstruction of Wutai. Second only to dad, of course." The last bit was said a trifle smugly. "Why?"
"Oh, ah, I was supposed to meet him on the cruise ship. An old friend, you understand. I never had the chance because of the storm, you see. I was just wondering if he'd made it after all."
"It's funny, he's never mentioned you. Oh well. To be perfectly honest I never liked him. I don't think he ever got on the ship, though. I didn't know he was planning on it either."
"So, he'd still be in Wutai?"
"What? Yeah, I suppose so."
"I'll have to drop by and see him when we get there then."
Yuffie nodded and stared up at the stars. A cloud of fireflies arose from the tall grass and flew overhead. They lit up Yuffie's face and she smiled in the moonlight. Reno smiled too but he wasn't watching the fireflies. Yuffie sighed and burrowed into her sleeping bag.
"G'night, Reno."
"Good night babe."
Yuffie heard as he settled down too, and listened as breathing slowed. She would be very sorry to see him go when they reached Wutai. Maybe she could ask him to stay and help with the rebuilding; he seemed to know people there and might be the glad for a chance to lend a hand.
She wondered why she could see him walking away and not looking back. Shivering despite the warm sleeping bag, Yuffie curled up and wished the future away.
~*
Chapter 4
Finally, they were both back on their feet. It had been a long wait for both Yuffie and Reno, but they were finally more less ready to hit the road again. It had taken another four days for the both of them to get back the strength they'd lost, but the time was finally right.
To Yuffie, it was like a dream come true. The last four days stuck in a cabin with only Reno for company had been. . . interesting to say the least. She just wasn't able to figure where she stood with him. One moment they were swearing loudly at one another screaming about how they couldn't wait to get outta there, the next they were collapsing on the floor doubled over laughing.
There was no time for regrets, however, as they searched the cabin one last time for anything else that might be useful along the way. So far they'd turned up two sleeping rolls - presumably the second had been for emergencies - the blanket, a package of matches, a large backpack and enough food to last them the couple day's trip to Wutai.
To Reno's great horror, the pack of cigarettes he'd had during the shipwreck had washed up on the beach, totally soaked and ruined. He'd taken it as a personal insult and spent the rest of the day grumbling about it. To top it all off, there wasn't a drop of alcohol in the cabin.
Anyway, they were both glad to be returning to civilization, and the final preparations were made with great rejoicing. And so, it was without reluctance that Yuffie stepped out onto the porch one last time and watched Reno shut the door behind him. They were on their way.
By Reno's estimate they were about a two day's walk from Wutai, and there would be some minor hiking involved. This was perfectly fine with Yuffie, who had grown up hiking the Wutaian mountains. She was quite looking forward to it, to be perfectly honest with herself. She looked out over the little forest with a grin, it was sort of like meeting an old friend. Reno shot a questioning look.
"You seem to be taking this walking thing pretty well."
"Sure. Why? What were you expecting?"
"Oh, I dunno. . . I just seem to remember a whiny ninja chick who couldn't do anything without complaining."
He dodged her slap with a smirk. Yuffie couldn't help but smile back . "Well. . . Maybe. But that was a long time ago. I've done a lot since then, so give me a break."
"Babe, you helped save the world. I think that's as big a break as you can get."
Bantering between them, they had walked off into the forest. Yuffie carried the huge backpack and Reno with the two sleeping bags slung across his back. His bright hair was tied back in the typical ponytail, but it never seemed to stay there. Just like the rest of him it seemed to prefer unruliness. Yuffie's hands itched to brush it out of his face, but she kept that thought to herself.
The path they took led into the forest and away from the beach. Yuffie hadn't been back since that Day, and didn't plan on it. Of course she'd heard all about Reno's cigarettes with great amusement, but she had resisted all his attempts to get her to go beachcombing with him.
This particular path led northwards. Yuffie had an excellent sense of direction and was able to keep them going straight whenever the path faded out due to lack of use. Reno wasn't bad himself, just not used to tramping through the wilderness. Even so, he carefully kept pace with Yuffie and they talked about the time's they'd spent together three years ago. The most memorable was the Wutai incident, of course.
Reno was laughing.
"How could I ever forget? The proud lady of Wutai hung up by her ankles!" Yuffie laughed along with him.
"It was my own fault too. I was so lucky that Cloud was there to save me from that icky old man." She sobered for a moment. ". . .Reno, if it was us you had been after, would you have dropped me off that cliff?"
"It was you I was after."
"Don't avoid the question."
Reno hesitated a moment before answering truthfully.
". . .Yes." They were both silent for the next few minutes until Yuffie broke the stillness.
"Reno?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you still now?"
"Why does it matter?"
"I. . . don't know. I just have to know the truth."
Reno thought about it as he walked. Pointed question indeed.
"You know, I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that one."
Yuffie smiled faintly and let the question drop.
It was a beautiful day for a walk, and about noon they came upon a small river. It was just a little too wide to jump, and it looked like it went on in both directions for a long ways. It sparkled in the sunshine and made Yuffie squeal with delight.
She ran to the water's edge and surveyed the river. Small fish darted here and there, the light glittering on their silver scales. A little frog hid in the shadows of the reeds and Yuffie crouched down to watch him. Reno walked over and sighed. There didn't appear to be a bridge in sight, and the water was deep enough to get them both very wet.
Yuffie stood up again and looked across the river. Turning to face Reno she had a haughty air on her face.
"Good sir, the lady of Wutai has commandeered you to her purpose. She, er, I command you to carry me across this river."
Reno gave her a look, but an evil thought flashed through his mind. Putting on his best winsome smile, he strolled nonchalantly up to Yuffie.
"Oh, is that so? In that case I'll have to do something about it."
Without any warning, his arms snaked out and pushed her forward. With a surprised cry, Yuffie grabbed Reno's arm as she fell, effectively pulling him into the river after her.
They both came up a moment later, gasping for breath and laughing at the same time. The water was cool, but not unpleasant. Taking advantage of the situation, Yuffie raised her hand as if to fix her hair and then slapped it across the water's surface, sending a small wave Reno's way. Laughing, she swam away before he had a chance to react.
Narrowing his eyes, Reno caught sight of Yuffie stroking away. She was a good swimmer all right, but Reno knew he was better. With an evil smile he took a breath and dove under the water.
A moment later, Yuffie gasped as she felt something grab her ankle. In an instant she was pulled under the water. She felt two hands push down on her shoulders, sending her downwards and Reno up. He broke the surface and treaded water, grinning as Yuffie came floundering back up. She spat water and glared furiously at Reno.
"Why I oughtta . . ."
The fight lasted another ten minutes until they were both tired. Dragging themselves up the opposite side they lay in the sunshine panting as the warm light did it's best to take the worst of the water out of their clothes. As Yuffie tried to dry out, Reno decided he could live with wet clothes and swam back across the river to get the pack and the sleeping rolls.
When he'd brought them across, he and Yuffie made the best of it by having lunch on the sunny riverbank. All in all it was a pleasant hour spent.
After they had eaten, Yuffie turned her attention to the distant ridge against the sky.
"We should probably get going if we're ever going to get to Wutai. What d'you say to trying to reach the top of that ridge by tonight?"
Reno shaded his eyes against the sun and watched the ridge.
"You know what? You're on."
Jumping up Reno grabbed the sleeping bags and ran off in the general direction of the ridge. Scrambling to her feet, Yuffie grabbed the large bag and took off after him.
"Dammit Turkey, you're supposed to wait for me!"
* * * *
Early evening saw the pair of them climbing the ridge in question. Earlier on, Reno had hidden in the trees as Yuffie ran breathlessly past. He'd then taking great amusement in strolling up to her all composedly and being obvious about not commenting on the twigs and leaves in her hair. She'd almost killed him for that one and now it was time to repay the favor.
Yuffie climbed nimbly up the thin ledges with practiced ease. Down below her Reno was having a lot more difficulty and Yuffie grinned as she heard muffled cursing from somewhere further down.
"Hey, Turkey! You're gonna have to try harder then that!" She heard a thump.
"Ow! Bloody hell. . . look what you made me do. Wait up, will ya!?"
Laughing, Yuffie turned and scampered on ahead.
The sun was just setting over the horizon on their first day of the trek as Reno reached up to haul himself over the top of the ridge. To his great surprise he felt a hand take his instead. Pulling hard, Yuffie Helped Reno up and watched with sparkling eyes as he lay on the ground panting. Anyway, they wouldn't go much further tonight.
The last thing left to do was set up camp. It was an easy procedure; Reno lit the fire and Yuffie laid out the bed rolls. To Yuffie's complete surprise, Reno decided to cook dinner. Not that she'd wanted to, of course, but she'd sort of expected it anyway.
They sat around the fire, on their sleeping bags as the stars came out. Reno wanted to tell a ghost story, but Yuffie was adamantly refusing. She sort of liked sleep and there were a lot of shadows about. Instead, Reno threw Yuffie a question that caught her off guard.
"Hey, babe. Do you by any chance know a Mr. Hwen?" Yuffie looked up, wondering.
"Yeah, sure. He's one of the biggest parts of the reconstruction of Wutai. Second only to dad, of course." The last bit was said a trifle smugly. "Why?"
"Oh, ah, I was supposed to meet him on the cruise ship. An old friend, you understand. I never had the chance because of the storm, you see. I was just wondering if he'd made it after all."
"It's funny, he's never mentioned you. Oh well. To be perfectly honest I never liked him. I don't think he ever got on the ship, though. I didn't know he was planning on it either."
"So, he'd still be in Wutai?"
"What? Yeah, I suppose so."
"I'll have to drop by and see him when we get there then."
Yuffie nodded and stared up at the stars. A cloud of fireflies arose from the tall grass and flew overhead. They lit up Yuffie's face and she smiled in the moonlight. Reno smiled too but he wasn't watching the fireflies. Yuffie sighed and burrowed into her sleeping bag.
"G'night, Reno."
"Good night babe."
Yuffie heard as he settled down too, and listened as breathing slowed. She would be very sorry to see him go when they reached Wutai. Maybe she could ask him to stay and help with the rebuilding; he seemed to know people there and might be the glad for a chance to lend a hand.
She wondered why she could see him walking away and not looking back. Shivering despite the warm sleeping bag, Yuffie curled up and wished the future away.
~*