By Word of Mouth,

By Ealinesse

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DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of the Final Fantasy series - characters, items, ideas, nothing. I do not claim to. The only characters I do own, are not even in the story yet, though I do claim right to them when they pop up.

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Chapter Seven: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow...

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Luck, it turned out, had nothing to do with the landing. Nor did apparent pilot skill, she realised as the plane bounced across the runway before coming to a complete stop in a screech of smoke and burning rubber. Yuffie unscrunched her face from its mask of fear as the plane halted with a groan, her fingers finally able to relax from their white knuckled grip on the cargo nets behind her. She made a mental note to make sure Reeve began to actually check if people had pilot's licenses before he hired them.

She also made mention to tell Cid that perhaps he wasn't such a bad pilot after all, as the nausea that had rooted itself in her belly gradually began to subside. At least he could land a plane on that actual runway instead of scraping dangerously along the grass verge. She could easily say that this was the worst landing she'd ever experienced in her life.

"Well, at least we're alive," she muttered as her aching muscles began to protest their abuse. She ignored them, however, and concentrated of finding Reno in the mass of bodies before her. A couple of minutes ago the plane had hit a particularly bad bout of turbulence as it had descended into its final stages of landing, and although she'd done her best to stop the Turk from sliding around in the hold, she'd been forced to let go of him when he began to slide into a crate, lest she should be dragged with him. Somewhat thankfully, he'd been knocked out from the impact, but that probably wouldn't last for long. At least he was out of his – and her – misery for the time being.

At length she spotted him in amongst a tangled sea of limp arms and legs. She had just began picking her way through the crowd when the cargo hold's door slid open. She could only stare in horror as a body began to slide out of the plane, and as whoever the poor fool was who had opened the door, was felled by the sudden weight.

After a moment of silence, she winced when a deep voice began to curse. "Are you all right down there?" she eventually called.

There was a brief grunt of concurrence, and then a face popped up through the gap.

"Where you headed now, miss?" the slight man asked her, climbing over the wad of people into the back of the cargo hold before disappearing in behind a few of the larger crates.

"Home, hopefully."

"You need a hand?"

Opening her mouth to answer, Yuffie's could only blink as someone else did the honours for her.

"Not just yet, I shouldn't think. Deal with the other passengers while I talk with Miss Yuffie."

But this authoritative voice wasn't the other young pilot's; for he was still in the cockpit. No, these words came from a different person entirely, and as Yuffie reached over the pile of dozing mischief to the Turk beyond, a second hand reached past and assisted her, pulling Reno over the heap into a more manageable position.

Throwing the man a cautious glance, Yuffie quickly continued to examine Reno, checking his pulse and breathing a sigh of relief a she felt it there, albeit it a little more strained than before. Quelling her worry she turned to the man, looking him up and down, instantly observing his businesslike demeanor and strained smile. His pressed suit was immaculate - smooth to perfection, which was more than she could say for Reno's. She didn't imagine she looked any better herself. He was shorter than her by about a head, though, she was pleased to notice, and rather round, making him appear even smaller.

A hand was offered, and she took it. "Kantra, Office Administrator of the airport. Nice to meet you, though the circumstances leave a lot to be desired." the sleek man said aprubtly.

As if answering her question, the man otherwise known as Kantra offered her a brief grin, rolling his eyes in a manner that belied his formal appearance. Her first impression of a tight-ass executive was removed as the wide smile wiped all sinister expression from his face. He shrugged and proceeded to begin to haul Reno out of the cabin without further prompting. "President Reeve called and said you'd be needing some assistance. Said Reno'd gotten himself into some trouble, too. Something about a dragon and the skycab? I don't suppose I need it to be explained."

Yuffie nodded at the Turk held up against the shorter man as Kantra slung Reno's arm around his shoulder. "Trouble seems to be his middle name."

Another smile. "In that I would agree. This way, please, there are some forms you have to sign, and I've a weak antidote ready for Reno. It'll be enough to get him to an item store on his own legs, I'm sure. But it's all we have I'm afraid..."

Following slightly behind the man, Yuffie frowned. Reeve hadn't said anything about an escort or anything about a set of forms to fill out. Hurriedly she trotted up to the man, wincing slightly at the difficulty he seemed to be having with carrying Reno, his shorter frame obviously not used to such exertion. She withheld a comment about him getting his suit rumpled, deciding that such a remark would be best left for Reno, and instead settled for, "You need a hand?"

"Not at all," Kantra said, smiling although his teeth were gritted together with the strain of supporting even Reno's slight weight. "You've had enough trouble, by the looks of things."

The comment was enough for her to pull back, and she instead dissolved into her mind to thoughts of her own. Kantra was right, anyway; her back was still sore from two hours of carrying one very slack Turk.

* * * * *

Yuffie scowled at the pile of paper in front of her. "Reeve didn't say anything about this!" she muttered, flicking through the fine print and finally slamming her hand dramatically on the paper. A select thud echoed through the room as the wad of paper absorbed any further noise.

"Well... Uh, no, I guess he didn't," Kantra said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. His green eyes suddenly seemed to find the floor very interesting. "Nonetheless they do need to be filled out by someone." He turned to the door, and Yuffie scowled at his back. His tone was sympathetic, and though she knew it wasn't his fault she was still here, it sure made her feel better.

"Will there be anything else?"

"No," she brooded, flicking yet another page.

"All right, then." Kantra left the room without even a goodbye or an apology, leaving her alone to her thoughts. When the door clicked closed, she was certain that she heard the door lock, should she decided to leave of her own accord.

The ninja sighed and leaned back in the stiff chair. Looking around the room she flicked a brunette lock of hair from her face, frowning at the painfully uniform white walls, and the grey carpet. Apart from a desk, a chair, and a patchy two-seater couch in the far corner, the room was barren. It reminded her of a dull rainy day, and she wondered just how anybody could get anything done in an office that lulled you to sleep with boredom.

"But complaining will not get the work done," she muttered, forcing her eyes back to the inch-thick stack of paper. Clicking the pen on and off with disturbing violence, she read the first question. "Name? Well that's simple enough."

But it wasn't until she reached the third page that it became confusing. Frustrated, Yuffie sat back in her chair and threw the offending pen across the other side of the room. She crossed her arms across her chest, having had about enough of the sight of the sheets before her. "Damn it, Reeve didn't say anything about forms! I feel like I'm flunking an exam!"

"He never does."

Yuffie jumped and sat up straighter, eyes wide. "Reno?" She turned, facing the voice, watching as Reno picked up her pen from the floor and placed it back on the desk.

"The one and only. And Reeve never says anything about those forms, because, well face it, if you're even half normal you'll bitch about them until you get out of it. It's easier for him and the whole world if he just springs them on you. It's how he gets his daily kicks, knowing that he's pissing someone else off as much as they are him."

Yuffie watched as Reno made his way across the room onto the couch. He was looking a lot better, she decided. He'd taken care of the blood crusted in his hair and on his face, and he wasn't as pale as he had been. At least he was walking by himself now, though she could tell he still wasn't fully healed. His grin was a tad less enthusiastic than usual, and he sauntered across the room slowly, still favouring the unhealed wound from his shoulder; the wound he wouldn't be able to cure until he could get a decent Antidote. He had changed his shirt, though, and there was no trace of his injury except for the faint show of a pristine white bandage peeking out under the collar.

Reno smirked from his seat. "Though I see they've managed to get you filling them out anyway. I suppose that was why the door was locked."

She nodded, and threw the paper over to him. He caught it deftly and threw it back to her as if he'd been burned.

"Don't even think about it, brat. I've filled enough of those out in my life to know what's good for me and what's not. They," he gestured to the forms as they sat on the desk, untouched, "are not."

She scowled, picking at the paper disgustedly. "What the hell do we need to answer these for, anyway?"

Reno shrugged. "Insurance. Reeve covering his ass, that kind of thing. What part are you up to?"

Scanning the page, Yuffie rolled her eyes and slouched over the desk, chin resting on the palm of her hand in mock-weariness. "Section Two, D. Man, does Reeve need to work on his written communication skills or what. Ol' Bugenhagen makes more sense than this."

The redhead closed his eyes, stretching with a slight wince, and Yuffie watched him frown in concentration. A sudden grin appeared on his face as he opened his eyes and caught her puzzled expression. He pointed at the paper. "Let me guess, 'Please state total sum of party of whom sustained maltreatment during period absene?"

The ninja felt herself blink before her body even reacted. Flicking to the page and scavenging to find a single word he'd misplaced on the form, she found none. She blinked again, her face blank.

Reno's feral grin only widened. "A lot can happen in three years." He nodded at the pile with a rather tired look. "Those damn things take up a good percentage of them. And the answer to that particular question you're stuck on, is one."

"Feel free to explain," she muttered, rubbing at her forehead.

"Because that load of crap written there stands for 'how many people were stupid enough to get themselves hurt'. I believe I was the only one."

Yuffie snorted and filled in the answer, biting the end of the pen as she held it poised in the air, ready for the next question. "Okay then, one. That's two sections down, twenty-five more to go."

"Thirty-three."

"What!"

"There's actually thirty-three left."

Yuffie eyed Reno with barely withheld disgust. "You're kidding."

"Wish I was. Apparently I'm stuck in here with you until it's completed. I doubt Kantra's going to let me out after that last little incident."

"What last 'little incident'?"

But Reno didn't answer, merely turned away with a small grin on his face.

Yuffie sighed and turned back to the paper. "Well I guess I'd better keep writing, then."

She clearly heard Reno groan. He turned to face her, his expression tired and disbelieving.

"What?"

"Yuff, in about two hours you're really going to wish you never said that." When she kept writing, Reno frowned. "You're really going to keep answering them that way, huh."

"You've got a better idea?"

"Actually, I do." When Yuffie didn't answer, Reno smirked. He could see her frustration from here, and he had an amusing, if not perfect idea. "Might I suggest something?"

Yuffie could only watch as Reno picked up the paper, producing a glowing green orb from his bag. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Not at all."

"Reno, I don't think-"

"Do you really want to answer all those? I'm doing you a favour here."

"No, but-"

"Look, the way I figure it, if you don't answer them then I'll have to. Reeve'd make sure of that when I got back. This is my answer."

"You have a twisted sense of logic, Turkey."

"Whatever."

Her only reply was a chastely raised eyebrow. It would be a quick laugh. She watched as, with no further adieu, Reno threw the paper into the air, muttering the words required to cast the spell under his breath. Seconds later the paper ignited and a great plume of smoke rose up in the air as it caught, staining the roof a dark charcoal with the enhanced bloom and stretch of a dark flower. As the smoke and haze faded she could see the mark it had left clearly, which stood out starkly against the crisp white. The childish grin on Reno's face made her smile, but she quickly ducked her head and covered her ears as the smoke alarms went off, and there was the distinct sounded of a 'click' - the unlocking of the door. Yuffie took a hasty step back as Kantra stormed into the room.

"Reno! What do you think you're doing!"

"Look, Kantra, I didn't answer them last time, did you really think I was going to this time?"

"Well... no, but I thought Miss Yu-"

"Good. Come on, Yuff, we're out of here."

As Reno grabbed her arm she leaned in to him, muttering, "Last time?"

There was a brief snort. "Look up."

And it was then that the ninja noticed a second cloud of old soot firmly stuck to the ceiling. It was suspiciously similar to the one Reno had made just before, though located a lot closer to the door, as if the person had been trying to escape while casting the spell.

"And I though I was immature."

"What was that?"

"I said you really need to learn to exercise some restraint with fire, Turkey."

"Why's that?"

"I heard about that kid, Reno."

"Heh, yeah. And to think he was even more annoying than you... until yesterday I did not know that was even possible."

It was only with great self-control that Yuffie managed to keep from punching him in the shoulder.

* * * * *

Roughly two hours later Yuffie assisted a very pissed Turk from the gates of Wutai's airport. She also couldn't help scowling as she thought of all the forms they'd had to fill out. Reno's ploy, in the end, hadn't worked after all. They'd been caught at the door by security while a very irate Kantra had locked them in the office and posted an armed guard outside the door until they'd finished them. Each and every single one had been checked as they'd watched and it didn't save any time when the administration officer had discovered some of the smart replies Reno had come up with.

As if reading her thoughts, Reno muttered, "Well how was I supposed to know that Reeve found out about last time?"

Her dark scowl deepened and she squeezed her free hand into a fist, trying to hold her tongue. "How can you burn someone's ceiling and not have your superior find out about it?"

The Turk chose not to reply and instead carried on walking. Their destination didn't even need to be conversed; Yuffie knew the best item shop in Wutai, and she knew what Reno needed. If he was not going to admit his weakness then she was not going to bring it up, even though the dispirited Antidote had begun to lose its effect against the poison in his system. But getting from here to there just seemed like something they both had to do, and as well as that, the shop was on the way to her home. They hadn't yet said anything about parting ways.

As they walked Yuffie surveyed the land about them, breathing in the fresh air that surrounded them. The main areas of Wutai were sheltered from the dry, humid air that whisked across the plains, and for the majority it was a calm place. Or it had been a calm place, she reflected. Since the Meteor incident and the end of the old Shinra, Wutai had stopped being such a reclusive location, and had begun to accept visitors to their culture with more willingness. After meeting Reeve Lord Godo had accepted that this would happen, and accepted the pleasantness of the rule of the new world, as well as the publicity it would involve. As an impact Wutai had grown bigger, attained more trade, which in turn had boosted its previously failing economy. The town had prospered, and the proposed universal Sky-cab circuits had helped it along its way. No one, so far, had any complaints.

It took them little time to reach the small item shop which was located in the new central square. But when they did, however, the ninja left Reno outside by a bench in the cool air by the changing rooms, where the stuffiness of the shop inside wouldn't get to him. Besides, the last thing she needed was Reno causing a ruckus in the shop. She could just picture him haggling over the price of an Antidote.

Approaching the counter the young ninja smiled and waved at the shop manager, but was met with a shifty glance. She frowned. It wasn't the first time someone in the street had spared her an odd look since she'd left the airport, but she put it down to her absence, though. Perhaps it was because she was paying so much attention to it that she noticed it? She was the heir to Wutai, after all, though oftentimes that didn't mean a lot…

Things were no different now. Yuffie wondered idly what it was, but shook the thoughts off when she considered the matter at hand. A strong Antidote. Right. Picking at the objects it took her but a short minute to find what she was looking for. Gathering two of the small white bottles - one for Reno and one for future storage - she lugged them up to the counter.

"Not feeling too well, are ye, Miss?"

The brunette offered a chaste grin, which was followed by a frown as the serving girl jumped, as if frightened. Yuffie's expression dropped, and she frowned. "For a friend," she muttered. This reluctantness was fast getting to her. She'd known this serving girl for years, why was she being so cold?

During the entire exchange, neither of the two said anything more, and soon enough Yuffie left the shop with her new possessions. When she got back Reno was nowhere to be seen, and she almost left, thinking how obvious it had been that the Turk would do so. She sighed and it wasn't until she sat down on a bench seat when a voice rose her out of the silence.

"What took you so long."

Yuffie jumped, berating her off reflexes. She looked up into a set of sapphire eyes, which glittered with not-so-concealed amusement. She quickly recovered herself and procured the Antidote from her bag. She smirked and held back the object when he reached for it. "What, no 'thanks Yuffie'? No 'wow, gee, you saved my scrawny ass... again!'"

In the silence that followed Yuffie was certain she tumbleweed roll across the pavement as Reno fixed her with a pointed stare. She scowled. "Not even an 'I owe you one'?"

There was a snort, but apart from that no answer was offered. Instead, Reno snatched the object out of her hand faster than she'd have thought possible and walked into the toilets not ten metres away. "Wait here," he called back. She watched as the redhead picked at his bloodstained blazer, wincing at the damage done to it over no more than a day.

"I thought you wouldn't mind wearing something like that," she called in, taking a seat on a park bench beside her.

Her only answer was a derisive laugh, then, "Don't flatter yourself, brat. Even I have to sense not to wear shit like this in public. Besides, you don't look any better."

* * * * *

"Don't flatter yourself. Even I have the sense not to wear shit like this in public. Besides, you don't look any better."

Reno frowned when he received no reply to the barb, but discontinued his train of thought when a wave of weariness washed over him. Sliding into an individual cubicle the redhead closed relieved eyes and sat on the lid of a toilet seat. He closed the small door, leaning his head back against the cool concrete of the wall, opening the bottle of Anditode and downing it in a large gulp. The initial burning sensation as it went down his throat made him wonder whether Yuffie had put a more potent poison in the tiny flask, but minutes later as he began to feel better, he discarded the unfounded thought.

Gradually the nausea and bile sitting in the back of his throat began to subside, as did the constant throbbing in his head. The initially refreshing iciness of the wall fast grew uncomfortably so, and he rubbed his neck as he sat forward, realising that his fever was going to go down fast, too. Though none of that made up for the energy he'd spent trying to stay conscious through it all. He knew only sleep would cure that. He picked through his bag, knowing now that he could now heal his wound, and found a Cure Materia in amongst all of the junk. He smiled in satisfaction as the spell settled over the wound and he was finally able to take the bandage off. He dumped the item on the floor, vastly relieved.

His outward mask of ungratefulness forgotten, Reno spared a moment to thank Yuffie internally for not leaving him to die like many others would have. Cloud's woman, Tifa, would never have been so kind. And the only other people known to have carried him around were Rude and Elena, with good reason. He couldn't remember anyone else ever buying him an Antidote, either. Did she expect him to pay it back?

Quickly removing his outer blazer now that his wound didn't need to be concealed, he turned, ready to leave the cubicles when a sudden series of noises outside the toilet caught his attention. He faced the opposite wall, frowning. Who would fight behind the toilets? He dumped his bag onto the floor, climbing up onto the seat of the toilet and peeking out the distorted, open window, wincing as he did a once-over of the scene.

Someone had been causing trouble, he noticed, and was paying the price dearly in what was the otherwise deserted back alley behind the toilets. The man in question lay unconscious and detached from sanity in a void of black pain, and the other one...

Reno did a double take, almost falling off the top of the toilet as a familiar image appeared in his mind. It took him more than a second to click on where he'd seen him before, and even then he was dubious. Was it possible that the man he was to watch for the next few days to be here, now? If so, this had the potential to save him a lot of time. Not to mention effort. If this was Carlos Ilantra, then he need look no farther than a back alley.

As his charge began to again kick the man on the ground, Reno couldn't stop a deep frown from creasing his forehead. What was he doing here? According to the files he had received, the recently parole-released man was on house arrest only. The conditions of this sentence were that he was not to appear in public for another three months, until his ankle collar was taken off him. That was only if he behaved. And that was another thing that confused him. Reeve had mentioned that the parole officer for the Wutaian area hadn't contacted the Shinra Headquarters for the better part of two weeks.

By regulation, the officers in charge of parole for every city were required to report to Reeve or his underlings weekly with a report of criminal progress. the fact that his parole officer hadn't kept up the weekly communication to Shinra headquarters. Nor had the psychologist, which irked Reno greatly. He knew both men, and their articulate and often painfully abrupt methods of interaction.

Reno watched as the man began to turn away from the beaten figure slumped against the pavement. What would cause either man to allow Carlos off his leash, especially out in a public place such as this. He felt dread pool at the bottom of his gut as he eyed the unconscious body on the ground. How many more people had Carlos injured - or even worse, killed?

He needed to know what was going on, and he needed to know now, before Carlos got away. If the psychologist had let Carlos out, then why? Reno frowned, pulling the slats off the window in rapid succession, never tearing his eyes off the figure that was steadily making its way to the end of the alleyway. He couldn't afford to ponder over whether to follow the man; there was no decision to make, and no further thought to Yuffie. If this made his mission pass faster, then so be it. The brat would be grateful to get rid of him, anyway.

No one out on the street spared him more than a second glance as he crept out of the window and into the alley. He didn't bother to do any further searching. Sparing a second to cast a weak Cure spell on the body in the alley behind him, Reno didn't even have the chance to look back and see if he was okay; he was too busy trying to keep up with the man who had just now darted around the corner in front of him. Reno followed, flirting with the shadows as he kept his eye on the man in front of him.

But why did his gut feeling tell him this wasn't going to be so easy, after all?

And why did he feel guilty for saying not so much as a 'by your leave' to the brat?

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later one Yuffie Kisaragi began to get rather pissed off.

Reno had said wait, and in a moment of uninhibited compliance, she had. She'd waited, and waited, and was quite frankly growing tired of it. The bench seat she was resting on was uncomfortable to say the least, and the annoying bustle of the Central district was beginning to irk her. In the past two days she'd grown accustomed to the relative calmness of the countryside, and she'd long since felt a headache brewing at the symphony of piercing, bustling sounds.

Two minutes later Yuffie's temper got the best of her. "Reno, what is taking you so long?" she called out, standing up and heading over to the door. She ignored the strange glances. At least they were founded this time.

She was answered only by silence and so she tried again. But to no avail. Yuffie cursed, about to turn around and leave when a sudden thought occurred to her. She scoffed. "Turkey? Will you stop being so damned vain and hurry up?"

Nothing.

"Oh for Chrissake, that's it! I'm coming in." Her temper abruptly returned and without further thought she covered the remaining distance to the toilets and strode straight into the door to the small building. Under her front of anger, the young ninja found she couldn't quite conceal the worry that sounded in her voice as she made her way into the mens' toilets, hoping like hell no one with any lasting memory recognised her as she headed in.

"I swear, if you've gone and fainted again, I'm gonna come in there and... "

Yuffie's voice trailed off as she was met with three cubicles. Only one was locked. By way of feet under the gap to the door, there was nothing. Reno wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Reno?" Yuffie shook her head as her voice echoed oddly in the concrete tiled enclosure. Silence followed, and she scowled, getting to her hands and knees on the cold concrete ground. "I can't believe I'm even doing this." She stopped, counted to three in her head, and opened her eyes at the end of the count.

Nothing. No feet. No suit. Just a discarded bandage on the floor. Yuffie wriggled her slight frame under the door, wincing as the bottom of the door scraped along her back. She stood up slowly, anger quickly replacing her fear as she eyed the window slats taken out of the window. Curious, she leaned forward and tipped her head out of the frame of the window just in time to catch sight of Reno darting out of the alley, into a crowd of people at the end of a desolate lane.

Yuffie scowled. He could have just told her he was going to leave. Not like she had a problem about it, she did have things to do herself. Heading out of the cubicle she began to wander back down the street. It was a while before she realised she was headed in the wrong direction. She turned around and began to walk back the way she'd come when a newspaper heading caught her eyes. She froze in her tracks and her faced paled. She picked up a copy to look closer, but she hadn't seen incorrectly.

No wonder Staniv had called her back.

No wonder everyone was staring at her.

She should be at home!

Yuffie dropped the paper on the spot and began to sprint as fast as her legs would allow her. She pushed through the crowds, her heart pounding furiously, her eyes on the verge of tears. Any thoughts of Reno were thrown out of her mind as she whizzed down the street without so much as a backward glance, her arms pumping, her breath coming in short gasps. Why had she delayed so long?

She didn't see the cloaked figure watching her at the end of the alleyway as she left.

* * * * *

Author's Notes: Eh heh heh, heh... Okay, oops again, I think I took a while on this update, too, huh? Never mind, it's up now. ^_^ I'd like to know what you all think, etc, as I crave feedback always! Thanks to anyone out there who's reading.