Chapter Four
Yuffie felt really awkward in her temple dress. The last time she had had to wear one was when she was very little. She hardly remembered it, but there was a picture of her in it on the wall in the hallway. The picture always reminded her of her mother. Yuffie only had fragments of her memory left, and she kept those close to her. Her name was Miki, a short and sweet name, and it fit her well. Yuffie had grown to look much like her mother, except Yuffie always wore her hair short, whereas her mother had had long, glistening black hair. Yuffie sighed as she passed the picture of herself in the hallway. This was no time to be reminiscing, the mysterious guest awaited discovery.
Yuffie slid open the door to the parlor room. Immediately her eyes fell upon their guest. His back was turned to her, so she couldn't see his face. He was sitting on the couch sipping on a drink she had gotten from Turtle's Paradise. He was in small conversation with Godo when she stepped into the room. She entered the room quietly trying her best to not bring attention to herself. "Ah! There you are Yuffie." Her father exclaimed. So much for not being noticed, Yuffie thought, as she stopped in mid step to acknowledge her father.
She frowned and said, "Yeah I'm here, where did you think I went?" She stared at her father, and tugged at the back of her dress that was irritatingly riding up her backside. Godo frowned back, trying to hold back his displeasure in her lack of manners. Unfortunately, that was one thing that Miki had had a horrible time trying to instill into her daughter.
The guest turned his head around to see Yuffie. He was resting an arm on the back of the couch, his legs were crossed, and an unlit cigarette was resting between his lips. Yuffie took her gaze off her father to catch a glimpse of the man. He had perfectly almond shaped eyes, a rich brown in color. His hair was an interesting mix of brown and red, and it was spiked in the back. He wore a pair of sunglasses on his head, holding the length in the front back. A few strands of hair had escaped the grip of the glasses and hung loosely in his face. He wore a dark blue suit, but he had the jacket open revealing a white dress shirt. It was very revealing in fact, for it was not buttoned until halfway down the shirt. She blushed ever so slightly, seeing his reddish brown twirls of chest hair, and the definition of his pectorals.
"Quite a spitfire you have here Godo… She must be difficult to handle at times." The man spoke as he lifted a match to his cigarette, lighting it, and taking a long, smooth drag off it. His voice contained a cool confidence, and his comment sent her temper up a notch. She glared at him and could feel herself getting tense; her hands were clenched at her sides. Yuffie looked again at her father who was resting his head in his hands, shaking it in disappointment.
She walked around the room and found the seat farthest away from the man. She folded her arms in front of her, and refused to look at him again. She started tapping her foot in aggravation.
Godo introduced them, "Uh… Yuffie, this is Reno. He is the gentleman I told you about earlier."
"How do you do, Yuffie?" Reno inquired with a smirk on his face. Yuffie got the idea that he could sense her dislike of him. Without looking at him she nodded in recognition. "I hear you've got quite the skill with a shuriken. Never miss a bulls eye with a ninja star." How did he know so much about her? Oh well, she thought. Her father must have babbled on about such useless information, while they had waited for her.
She turned and looked at him. "I am a ninja ya know. I come from a long lineage of great ninjas. I am gonna be as good, if not better than my mother was before me. But what would you care? You don't seem the type to notice talent until it hits you square between the eyes, which can be arranged." She said with an attitude, lifting a hand to her hip, and leaning forward in her seat. She heard her father clear his throat loudly. She relaxed her stance, and sat back in her seat, waiting for the reprimand she was sure to receive.
It didn't come, instead she heard laughing. She looked over at Reno and saw him laughing loudly, holding his drink up so he didn't spill it. He stopped long enough to say, "Phew! Quite the fiery one, aren't ya?" And he continued laughing.
Godo apologized to his guest, but Reno dismissed it saying, "There is no problem I assure you." He switched his attention back to Yuffie and said, "I would love to see you put that much spirit in a fight, see your skill in action. Until then, how about we discuss matters civilly?" He flashed a small smile at her, and flicked the ashes of his cigarette into an ashtray.
She was annoyed, that was no doubt, but decided to go with what he said. Besides, she thought, the quicker they got this over with, the quicker she could get out of her dress. She nodded her approval to get on with the matters at hand, and tried to regain her composure.
Godo took this opportunity and quickly started discussing the reason Reno was even in Wutai. "Well it is a honor to have our newest challenger in Wutai. Did you have any questions you needed to ask me before accepting the challenge of the Pagoda?"
Reno, leaned forward in his seat, and set his drink down. "About that," he replied, "I'm afraid there has been a miscommunication."