After the Storm
Chapter 11
The cell was damp and dark, smelled faintly of old straw. All in all, it wasn't one of the better places Yuffie had ever been, and she wasn't exactly in a way to appreciate it. Currently, she was sitting in one corner, curled up with her head in her arms. She didn't want to look at Reno who was sitting against the back wall.
He was in an even worse state, physically at least. Reno had been beaten up pretty badly by the shadow guards when he'd been caught and was now suffering the consequences of his misadventure. He ached everywhere, although he was pretty sure he'd cracked at least a few ribs. He could still fight if necessity demanded it, however, and busied himself with worrying about the girl he shared his prison with.
Yuffie hadn't said a word since they'd been dumped down here, but had merely shut out the world around her. Reno couldn't really blame her, but he wasn't about to let her go just like that.
He remembered with a wince that he'd already made that mistake once. All of his life, Reno had been a Turk, and many of the traits that went along with the job were too well ingrained into him. It was hard to let go, in fact he knew all too well how hard. Once upon a time, three years ago, Reno had been offered a chance out of the hell-bent ways of the Turks. He had refused.
Not too many people actually get the fairytale ending that you read about in books, and the young man had never had any illusions. He was an assassin born and raised and knew nothing else. It would take something the far side of a miracle to make him anything other than he was. The part that stung the most was that his miracle was sitting just out of reach, her wings broken by his own hand.
Gritting his teeth, Reno levered himself up. There were a lot of things he would regret in his life, but he wasn't going to let this be one of them. Besides, the alternative was a very short lifetime indeed.
Standing up, and he quietly approached Yuffie. She showed no sign of having heard his approach, and when he laid a hand gently on her shoulder, she jumped. Her startled eyes met his for a fleeting instant before tearing themselves away. She viciously twisted away from him, her face contorted in a snarl.
"Don't touch me, Turk!" She hissed at him.
"Yuffie, I. . . It was never like he said!"
"Oh, is that so!? So you never meant to hurt anyone, did you!?"
"No! I mean, not you. . . never you."
"Maybe you don't see the problem here, Turk, but I do. I could never be with anyone who would do something so. . . so monstrous!" She spit out the last word. Reno drew himself back in anger.
"You say that now, but you're forgetting about who I was, who I am. I'm the one who dropped the plate on Midgar. You knew, Yuffie, you knew."
"That was then, this is now! I thought you'd changed, but I can see now that you're still the cold hearted bastard you always were. I asked once if you'd still drop me off that cliff Reno, and at least now I know the answer. I understand now."
"Don't ever say that! There is no way you could understand what I lived through, what I did because I had to!"
"Did you have to seal Wutai's death wish!? Did you have to make me care about you!? Did you have to make me feel like you could actually care too!? You said you never wanted to hurt me, but guess what. You did."
"I never knew about Wutai! I won't make excuses for what I did, but I never had a clue about what was going to happen to Wutai. Oh, and don't ask me if I would have done it if I had known, because I don't know the answer. Yuffie, now that I know you, everything is different. Everything I always believed was true is gone right out the window.
"I used to think that only bastards ever got anywhere in life, and that being strong was the only way to stay alive. I used to think that I could live my life alone perfectly happily. Well, ever since I met you all that has changed. You made me believe that there really is a wrong and a right; that emotions can matter; that people actually count. I know now that I could never live without you without thinking of you every second of the day. I know that there are things in life worth more than money. You made me believe, Yuffie. You made me believe."
Yuffie hesitated, but she was not about to let this just simply disappear. Yuffie felt her nails digging into her palms and forced herself to unclench them.
"You expect me to believe in you now!? Is that it!? Because I can't trust you, Reno, I can't trust anything you say. I lost everything and now I find out you were party to it! You were the one who comforted me when it all came crashing down, and yet you were the one who would have set the bomb!"
"It was a job, nothing more! I'm a goddamn assassin for hire, Yuffie, and I do what I get paid for! A long time ago you offered me a life in Wutai, and it was a dream come true. You know what!? Three years ago Elena and Rude left the Turks to go open a flower shop or some shit and they asked me to go with them. But I couldn't, Yuffie. No matter how much I wanted to I couldn't. I've been a fucking Turk since I turned fifteen and I don't know how to be anything else. I thought I'd lost my soul a long time ago, maybe down a gutter with the blood of some poor idiot who got in the way. Imagine my surprise when I find it slapping me in the face!?"
"So what do you want me to do now, forgive you? Is that it? I could, you know, someday. But not now Reno. I don't know what it was you were going to do but I can't help but remember all those stories I told you about Tess and then imagine her lying in some alleyway with a bullet to the head!"
"You want to know the truth!? Then listen to the damned truth!" After Reno's shout had died away he took a deep breath before continuing in a quieter voice.
"About two weeks ago, a man came up to me and told me he had a business proposition. Work is a little thin lately, and I accepted without asking for too many details." He grimaced. "Turns out to be the worst mistake of my life. Anyway, I get taken to see Mr. I-Have-Mr.-Vincent- Valentine's-Fashion-Sense and get a briefing. It's an easy job; make my way into the city by any means possible and take out a man named Mr. Hwen."
Yuffie interrupted "But he was. . ."
"Yeah, I know. It was him that brought me in tonight and man is he out for my blood. I guess almost being assassinated wasn't too good for his temper. Anyway, I was supposed to sneak into the city off the cruiser but I never got the chance. The evacuation was on the crucial night and I never made it off the ship. I can see the plan now, of course it makes sense if you're a deranged evil Jenova clone. He wanted to take out the only person who knew all of Wutai's defense systems so that he'd be able to march his army right into the city. He was buying time you see. It was only a matter of hours before the warriors figured out their weakness."
Yuffie remained silent as Reno ran through the plan. He had it figured out pretty well, and hearing it all put together made a lot of sense.
"You said that messengers had turned up a few days earlier? I guess our friend Mr. Hwen went for a secret midnight little chat with these guys because then he decides to defect to the other side. Maybe that was why they timed it to screw me up. I wasn't needed any more so it was easier to just get me out of the way with the others."
Surprisingly, Reno did not sound bitter about this. Yuffie finally relaxed a little, but she would not give Reno the satisfaction of seeing her give in.
"So a man I grew up knowing and respecting is the one who opened the gates and watched as everyone he ever knew was killed right before him." Her lips twisted bitterly. "And the man I was in love with turned out to be next in line for the same job." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Reno said nothing.
"The guy with the freaky eyes and no name seems to be the one who's holding all the others together. Much like Jenova before him, if we take him out the others will probably fall."
"The guy is one of them, whatever or whoever he is. It'll take more than a few knocks on the head to send him down and out. Those shadow thingies were damn near untouchable." Reno remembered in passing how the man had reminded him strangely of Cloud Strife. His empty black eyes had been quite the opposite of the blue ones he'd hated those three years ago.
"I. . . think there is a way to fight them. I don't know how exactly, but I'll figure it out. I have to."
"Better do it soon because if we don't that damned Hwen is going to have me roasting slowly over an open fire."
"It might not be so bad. Besides, there might be Christmas songs. Anyway, come on. We have to think. If we can figure a way out of here we'll have half a chance."
"A way out? Is that all? You're not asking much." He looked the door over before fishing into a well-concealed pocket. "I'll have it open in a minute, two at the most."
"Wha. . .?"
"A good Turk never takes any chances." He came up with a bit of wire before advancing on the door. Yuffie looked on in amazement as he knelt down and began to fiddle with the lock.
"So. . . You'll help me fight then?"
"Yes."
"I thought you said that you believed the badguys always won. What changed your mind?"
"You."
"You mean, when we beat Sephiroth?"
"Nah, that was a fluke. I meant you."
"Oh."
There was silence for a moment as Reno bit his lip. Yuffie held her breath, waiting for him to declare it was hopeless, but suddenly there was an audible click. Yuffie exhaled, and Reno stood up and nodded to her. He smiled, but there was no humor in it.
"Lets go, babe. We've got wrongs to right and lives to live." He then swept out and into the torch lit hallway without another word.
Yuffie only hesitated a second before following, but inside she was hurt to the quick. There was no way to miss the way Reno had automatically gone back to calling her 'babe'. Not only their enemy was nameless tonight, and for some reason the thought scared Yuffie as much as the look in Reno's eyes.
~*
Chapter 11
The cell was damp and dark, smelled faintly of old straw. All in all, it wasn't one of the better places Yuffie had ever been, and she wasn't exactly in a way to appreciate it. Currently, she was sitting in one corner, curled up with her head in her arms. She didn't want to look at Reno who was sitting against the back wall.
He was in an even worse state, physically at least. Reno had been beaten up pretty badly by the shadow guards when he'd been caught and was now suffering the consequences of his misadventure. He ached everywhere, although he was pretty sure he'd cracked at least a few ribs. He could still fight if necessity demanded it, however, and busied himself with worrying about the girl he shared his prison with.
Yuffie hadn't said a word since they'd been dumped down here, but had merely shut out the world around her. Reno couldn't really blame her, but he wasn't about to let her go just like that.
He remembered with a wince that he'd already made that mistake once. All of his life, Reno had been a Turk, and many of the traits that went along with the job were too well ingrained into him. It was hard to let go, in fact he knew all too well how hard. Once upon a time, three years ago, Reno had been offered a chance out of the hell-bent ways of the Turks. He had refused.
Not too many people actually get the fairytale ending that you read about in books, and the young man had never had any illusions. He was an assassin born and raised and knew nothing else. It would take something the far side of a miracle to make him anything other than he was. The part that stung the most was that his miracle was sitting just out of reach, her wings broken by his own hand.
Gritting his teeth, Reno levered himself up. There were a lot of things he would regret in his life, but he wasn't going to let this be one of them. Besides, the alternative was a very short lifetime indeed.
Standing up, and he quietly approached Yuffie. She showed no sign of having heard his approach, and when he laid a hand gently on her shoulder, she jumped. Her startled eyes met his for a fleeting instant before tearing themselves away. She viciously twisted away from him, her face contorted in a snarl.
"Don't touch me, Turk!" She hissed at him.
"Yuffie, I. . . It was never like he said!"
"Oh, is that so!? So you never meant to hurt anyone, did you!?"
"No! I mean, not you. . . never you."
"Maybe you don't see the problem here, Turk, but I do. I could never be with anyone who would do something so. . . so monstrous!" She spit out the last word. Reno drew himself back in anger.
"You say that now, but you're forgetting about who I was, who I am. I'm the one who dropped the plate on Midgar. You knew, Yuffie, you knew."
"That was then, this is now! I thought you'd changed, but I can see now that you're still the cold hearted bastard you always were. I asked once if you'd still drop me off that cliff Reno, and at least now I know the answer. I understand now."
"Don't ever say that! There is no way you could understand what I lived through, what I did because I had to!"
"Did you have to seal Wutai's death wish!? Did you have to make me care about you!? Did you have to make me feel like you could actually care too!? You said you never wanted to hurt me, but guess what. You did."
"I never knew about Wutai! I won't make excuses for what I did, but I never had a clue about what was going to happen to Wutai. Oh, and don't ask me if I would have done it if I had known, because I don't know the answer. Yuffie, now that I know you, everything is different. Everything I always believed was true is gone right out the window.
"I used to think that only bastards ever got anywhere in life, and that being strong was the only way to stay alive. I used to think that I could live my life alone perfectly happily. Well, ever since I met you all that has changed. You made me believe that there really is a wrong and a right; that emotions can matter; that people actually count. I know now that I could never live without you without thinking of you every second of the day. I know that there are things in life worth more than money. You made me believe, Yuffie. You made me believe."
Yuffie hesitated, but she was not about to let this just simply disappear. Yuffie felt her nails digging into her palms and forced herself to unclench them.
"You expect me to believe in you now!? Is that it!? Because I can't trust you, Reno, I can't trust anything you say. I lost everything and now I find out you were party to it! You were the one who comforted me when it all came crashing down, and yet you were the one who would have set the bomb!"
"It was a job, nothing more! I'm a goddamn assassin for hire, Yuffie, and I do what I get paid for! A long time ago you offered me a life in Wutai, and it was a dream come true. You know what!? Three years ago Elena and Rude left the Turks to go open a flower shop or some shit and they asked me to go with them. But I couldn't, Yuffie. No matter how much I wanted to I couldn't. I've been a fucking Turk since I turned fifteen and I don't know how to be anything else. I thought I'd lost my soul a long time ago, maybe down a gutter with the blood of some poor idiot who got in the way. Imagine my surprise when I find it slapping me in the face!?"
"So what do you want me to do now, forgive you? Is that it? I could, you know, someday. But not now Reno. I don't know what it was you were going to do but I can't help but remember all those stories I told you about Tess and then imagine her lying in some alleyway with a bullet to the head!"
"You want to know the truth!? Then listen to the damned truth!" After Reno's shout had died away he took a deep breath before continuing in a quieter voice.
"About two weeks ago, a man came up to me and told me he had a business proposition. Work is a little thin lately, and I accepted without asking for too many details." He grimaced. "Turns out to be the worst mistake of my life. Anyway, I get taken to see Mr. I-Have-Mr.-Vincent- Valentine's-Fashion-Sense and get a briefing. It's an easy job; make my way into the city by any means possible and take out a man named Mr. Hwen."
Yuffie interrupted "But he was. . ."
"Yeah, I know. It was him that brought me in tonight and man is he out for my blood. I guess almost being assassinated wasn't too good for his temper. Anyway, I was supposed to sneak into the city off the cruiser but I never got the chance. The evacuation was on the crucial night and I never made it off the ship. I can see the plan now, of course it makes sense if you're a deranged evil Jenova clone. He wanted to take out the only person who knew all of Wutai's defense systems so that he'd be able to march his army right into the city. He was buying time you see. It was only a matter of hours before the warriors figured out their weakness."
Yuffie remained silent as Reno ran through the plan. He had it figured out pretty well, and hearing it all put together made a lot of sense.
"You said that messengers had turned up a few days earlier? I guess our friend Mr. Hwen went for a secret midnight little chat with these guys because then he decides to defect to the other side. Maybe that was why they timed it to screw me up. I wasn't needed any more so it was easier to just get me out of the way with the others."
Surprisingly, Reno did not sound bitter about this. Yuffie finally relaxed a little, but she would not give Reno the satisfaction of seeing her give in.
"So a man I grew up knowing and respecting is the one who opened the gates and watched as everyone he ever knew was killed right before him." Her lips twisted bitterly. "And the man I was in love with turned out to be next in line for the same job." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Reno said nothing.
"The guy with the freaky eyes and no name seems to be the one who's holding all the others together. Much like Jenova before him, if we take him out the others will probably fall."
"The guy is one of them, whatever or whoever he is. It'll take more than a few knocks on the head to send him down and out. Those shadow thingies were damn near untouchable." Reno remembered in passing how the man had reminded him strangely of Cloud Strife. His empty black eyes had been quite the opposite of the blue ones he'd hated those three years ago.
"I. . . think there is a way to fight them. I don't know how exactly, but I'll figure it out. I have to."
"Better do it soon because if we don't that damned Hwen is going to have me roasting slowly over an open fire."
"It might not be so bad. Besides, there might be Christmas songs. Anyway, come on. We have to think. If we can figure a way out of here we'll have half a chance."
"A way out? Is that all? You're not asking much." He looked the door over before fishing into a well-concealed pocket. "I'll have it open in a minute, two at the most."
"Wha. . .?"
"A good Turk never takes any chances." He came up with a bit of wire before advancing on the door. Yuffie looked on in amazement as he knelt down and began to fiddle with the lock.
"So. . . You'll help me fight then?"
"Yes."
"I thought you said that you believed the badguys always won. What changed your mind?"
"You."
"You mean, when we beat Sephiroth?"
"Nah, that was a fluke. I meant you."
"Oh."
There was silence for a moment as Reno bit his lip. Yuffie held her breath, waiting for him to declare it was hopeless, but suddenly there was an audible click. Yuffie exhaled, and Reno stood up and nodded to her. He smiled, but there was no humor in it.
"Lets go, babe. We've got wrongs to right and lives to live." He then swept out and into the torch lit hallway without another word.
Yuffie only hesitated a second before following, but inside she was hurt to the quick. There was no way to miss the way Reno had automatically gone back to calling her 'babe'. Not only their enemy was nameless tonight, and for some reason the thought scared Yuffie as much as the look in Reno's eyes.
~*