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. I do own Carlos, and his little goonies, however, even though I may not like them much at times...
WARNINGS: Maybe a little language.
FEEDBACK: Yes please! Reviews are always welcome ^_^
(very short) AUTHOR'S NOTES: ... at end of chapter.
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Chapter Thirteen: A Trick And A Trap...
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Yuffie woke the next morning to a hand on her shoulder. Usually she would have jumped at the slight touch, her faster reflexes causing her to bolt out of the bed rather than lie still and accept the fleeting touch. But these were not the usual circumstances. She'd had little sleep since she'd arrived home, and sleeping for eternity was beginning to look like a good prospect. She groaned and rolled over, shrugging the hand off her.
"Miss Yuffie? Come on, Yuffie, wake up."
She sat up slowly after mumbling a reply muffled by her pillow.
"What was that?"
The ninja groaned and rolled over, still tired from her lack of sleep. Groggily she sat up, taking the dressing gown Staniv offered her. "I said, what time is - there was another one?" All too soon Yuffie recognised the other item he held in his hand, and she held back the fear she thought she'd dealt with the previous night at the meeting.
All Staniv could offer was a nod.
Pushing aside her emotions, Yuffie steeled herself for what would be inside. As the small slip of paper was handed to her, she turned it in her hand. "Have you read it?"
"No."
"Has anyone else?"
"No."
Before her hesitancy could get the better of her, she flipped open the item at the fold. With hungry eyes, she read the words out loud, her voice becoming but a whisper as she whispered the words in disbelief.
"I'm willing to forgive last night, given that you play a little game with me. It's a new twist called 'Cat and Mouse'. However, in this game, there will be two 'Cats': My workers, and you. The mouse is your friend. I believe you know who I'm talking about....
If you find him first, he's safe, and so is your father. If you don't... he's dead, and so is you know who...
Go quickly, ruler, the game's already started. I won't say good luck, because I'm having too much fun."
Yuffie's eyes widened at the implications. Before Staniv could stop her she was on her feet, gathering her weaponry and her clothes. She dressed hastily, holstering her weapon as her heart continued to pound in fear. She knew she would suffer consequences for her insubordination, but did they really know where Reno was…?
When she was ready Yuffie bolted out of the door without so much as giving regard to the guards she'd caused to stumble from the impact she'd created when she'd pushed the door open. She ignored Staniv's call as her own thoughts tumbled out of nowhere.
'A second chance? Why would he give me a second chance?'
When she reached the outside of the Pagoda, she frowned and quickened her pace. She had no intentions of getting Reno involved all of this, especially when he wasn't mean to be in the first place.
All the while, she couldn't help but wonder what game Carlos was playing now.
* * * * *
Reno shoved a strand of frustrating hair from his eyes and pushed his dark sunglasses up higher on his head. Heading back from the Parole Office he made his way up the entrance to the Inn, grinning briefly at the receptionist behind the desk. As he clambered up the stairs, more than ready for a cool beer to ditch the oppressive feeling of dread he'd been feeling the entire morning, he heard a voice call out from behind him.
He turned back to the girl behind the desk, his expression curious.
"Your friends. Did you get hold of them?"
Reno backtracked, his eyes narrowing as he cast a surreptitious glance up the stairs. "What friends?"
At this the secretary cocked her head. A look of puzzlement donned her petite features, as she attempted to get her mind around something that obviously didn't seem quite right. She eventually frowned and shook her head slowly. "The two people that came in."
'Rude and Elena? If so, then they're a day early.' "Two people?"
"Two men."
Again his gaze flickered up the stairs. He frowned. He hadn't given anyone other than Rude, Elena or Yuffie his address. Immediately he put himself on alert. Whoever they were, they weren't his allies. "Are they in my room? You gave them a key?"
The woman blinked, confused. "They, uh... They said they didn't need one. They-"
The words were all Reno needed to hear. He crept up the stairs, praying silently for them not to creak under his weight. Warily, he pressed himself against the door even as a crashing noise rose out of the silence. The sound of something being thrown across a room echoed loudly in the small corridor. Then there was another, and another.
Eventually, Reno heard the sound of the sliding door to the balcony opening, and the jingling of the cheap chimes against his curtains. Whoever was in there, was not only trashing his room, they had access to his balcony. Mentally, Reno sighed before counting to three. On the final count he darted forward and slammed open the door, gun in hand, armed and ready.
He was met with nothing. The sliding door was open, the room, as he had guessed, trashed. The lamps lay broken, the chairs smashed - even the bedsheets had suffered there fair share of abuse. He headed into the bathroom, then checked the cupboards after the balcony, but was met with nothing. The people were gone as quickly as they had come, and he held no doubts as to who they were working for, and how they had escaped.
The only reason was why. Confused, Reno searched his room quickly, trying to figure out if anything was missing. When he noticed that his bloody shirts from the day before were gone, he raised his eyebrows as he felt his mind ticking in bafflement. Why would anyone want old shirts?
Idly, he mused at how much this was going to cost him, but that was before the sound of footsteps on stairs alerted the Turk to someone else's presence. The redhead cursed and checked his weapon before darting behind one of the heavy curtains by the balcony. He muttered a cursive under his breath as he heard the door open, and someone enter silently enough that he guessed they didn't want to be heard. He held his breath, hoping like hell that it would be the receptionist coming to check out whatever was wrong, and not the thugs he knew to have been in his room not five minutes before.
It was a few minutes before whoever they were had finished searching - which was what they were quite clearly doing, even though Reno could not see. The footsteps, less wary now, became louder, and moved closer to him only to step toward the balcony. To his left, the Turk caught a glimpse of dark brown hair, and a flash of green, as well as the image of one very familiar weapon. 'Yuffie?' he queried to himself in puzzlement. 'What the hell is she doing here?'
Not wanting to alarm any attackers in the immediate area, Reno stepped out with lightening speed and clapped his unarmed hand across her mouth to silence her, just in case ...
* * * * *
Once out of the marketplace, it took Yuffie a second to realise just where she was going to, and that she'd just turned around the wrong corner. She backtracked, frustrated, and ignored the shifty glances of her people, who were hard-pressed to stay out of her wavering path.
Eventually she found her way to the Inn. As she climbed the stairs to the front entrance, a new feeling of hope found it's way into her gut... but that was long before she noticed the two armed men scaling down the outside of the two-storey hotel. A surge of worry that she would never openly admit to Reno shot through her as she saw the weapons they were holding. The two men didn't seem to mind the attention they were drawing, even though they were focussed on their getaway. Before she could even so much as begin to chase after them, a wake of people closed in around them, rendering them virtually invisible to her.
She didn't give them so much as a second thought.
Hurriedly, she made her way up the stair, ignoring the receptionist as she flew up the stairs two at a time. When at the top she noticed the wide-open door and the mess that had been created. Almost everything had been either upturned or trashed. Whoever had been searching had done a thorough job.
But had they found Reno?
Making her way into the room as quietly as she could, Yuffie checked the entire room, but found nothing. There was no evidence of anything other than a thorough ransacking, and although she found nothing that suggested there had been a fight, there was also nothing that proved he was safe. After double-checking the room she headed towards the balcony. But before she could so much as take a step forward a hand was clapped against her mouth, and an amused voice spoke in her ear from some point behind her.
"After a night chained to my bed you're crawling back to me the next day?" came a soft drawl to her right.
Yuffie instantly relaxed, but when he didn't let her go immediately she bit his hand.
"Hey!"
"Well let me go!"
He obliged and she darted forward, spinning to face him. She mentally checked him for injuries, and she almost sighed in relief when she found none. He didn't look hurt; in fact, he looked almost more casual than ever. She noticed his gun, however, which was held tightly in his gloved grip, which belied his very expression. He smirked under her appraisal and raised his arms, looking down at himself with a rather amused scrutiny.
"What?" he asked.
"You're not hurt?"
"Nope."
"What about those guys?"
"Gone," Reno said, cracking his fingers together. He cocked his head to the side and scratched at the back of his neck. "What are you doing here?"
She ignored his question. "You didn't meet them?"
"Nope. You think they'd still be alive if they had?"
Yuffie rolled her eyes at Reno's overt complacency, but found herself too relieved for words. Reno was safe, so that meant her father was. But what was supposed to happen next? Would they release her father? Would she have to pay more ransoms?
A sudden shriek behind her startled her from her brief thoughts, and she looked up to see the receptionist she'd ignored earlier standing at the open doorway. Her face visibly drained of all colour as she surveyed the wreckage that had once been Reno's hotel room, and she looked as if her knees were going to buckle from the shock.
Reno darted forward and steered her out of the room with a short backward glance, leaving her to survey the remains of the room. Shaking her head at the mess, the brunette put away her shuriken. She headed down the stairs and out into the main lobby, where Reno was trying to talk some form of sense to the woman.
He looked up as she entered, and raised an eyebrow in what was slight confusion coated with a silent question. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
The question made the ninja instantly remember her priorities, and mentally she berated herself for being so lax. She grabbed onto Reno's sleeve and pulled. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."
"Why?"
"Oh quit stuffing around, Reno. Do you even know what those men were doing here? Or how they knew where you lived at all?"
Reno visibly winced at the words. "Fucked if I know, brat, those questions came after 'What are you doing here?', but seeing as we didn't even get that far..."
"Oh, come on!" Her lack of sleep and the very identity of the person she was dealing with made her temper even shorter. Yuffie tugged harder on his sleeve. When he didn't so much as budge, she glanced around the room nervously before eyeing him with a stony glare.
"What?"
"We can't just leave, you know."
She shook her head, confused. "And since when have you had a problem with things like this?"
"Look-"
"No, you look. My father is the Lord of Wutai, he can fix this when we get these guys!"
Reno just stared blankly at her, and blinked. Even the young receptionist seemed to recoil as if struck an invisible blow. Then Yuffie realised what she'd said. She took a step back, then another slower one, as if not quite sure what to do. Sudden anger bit at her very heart, and she turned away from the two as tears pricked at her eyes.
You are strong, young one.
"Yuff?" The voice was softer now.
"What?"
"Why do we need to get out of here?"
She whipped back to face him, an eyebrow raised. She flashed him the note she hadn't remembered pocketing, and he scowled. "Can I explain it when we get out of here?"
He stared hard at her, as if trying hard to figure something out, then faced the sobbing woman. Reno nodded imperceptibly, then pulled out his Shinra ID and placed it down on the small coffee table beside the woman. He whispered something to her, to which she nodded, and then wrote something down on paper. Yuffie could only watch bluntly as the young woman wiped at her eyes with a sniffle, a shaky smile spreading across her face followed by a curt nod.
The ninja shook her head in wonderment, curious as to how Reno could possibly have made the girl smile under such circumstances. 'Then again,' she thought, remembering the note he had written her the previous night.
When Reno looked up at her, she asked, "You ready now?"
He grinned and swiped his ID from the desk. As they reached the doorway and made an exit the tall redhead called back, "And remember to visit or write that address ASAP!"
The overall impression of that line made Yuffie groan, and her depression of moments before was instantly forgotten. She recognised the previous situation as one of the kind of opportunities the Turk would probably take. Had she known him better, she wouldn't have been so crass. "Oh please don't tell me you gave that poor girl your address!"
Reno shot her a dirty look, but his eyes twinkled in the morning light. "Nope," he laughed with smug satisfaction.
"Then whose?"
"Reeve's."
The simplicity of the statement made Yuffie stop in her tracks. "You gave her Reeve's address," she muttered bluntly.
"Yep."
"Why on earth would you do something like that?"
Reno's previous grin only widened as he remembered the solution he'd come across regarding payment for the room. "Well, if your father can't pay for the damage to that room, then Reeve certainly can."
The ninja's eyes widened as she imagined Reeve receiving that information. "He's gonna have a fit! There was nothing in that room still in one piece!"
The Turk raised a vivid eyebrow as he watched a slow grin form on the ninja's face, and casually flicked his sunglasses over his eyes to ease the glare of the sun. "Just imagine it as his early-morning wake up call. He always says coffee doesn't quite do the job anymore. I'd say this'll work perfectly." He resumed walking, looking the very picture of serious. "And besides," he added, turning back to her. "He owes it to me for getting me so knee deep in shit with no way out."
Yuffie shook her head, holding back a smirk as she wondered just how sane she must be to be even remotely amused under the circumstances.
* * * * *
Yuffie and Reno were greeted with rather mixed emotions. They were met at the front entrance of the Pagoda again, and though Reno noted that almost half a day had passed, Shake's cloudy expression had not changed in the slightest. In fact, with his arms placed taughtly on his hips, his lower jaw jutting forward in an act of contrite stubbornness, he looked a lot worse. The Turk almost shrugged, but instantly shifted his guarded gaze to Staniv, whose expression was a lot more mild.
Out of the corner of his eye, Reno could almost see the tension dissolve from the young ninja as a broad smile found its way across the older aide's face. Reno took a step back, allowing Staniv easy access to Yuffie, who ducked her head and bit her lip as the man put a heavily cloaked arm on her shoulder.
"You found him!"
"Yep." Any residual doubt was gone from Yuffie's words now, though she seemed a little more bashful... or was that simply because she'd told him nothing, and they were just letting him know right now?
This time the Turk did shrug as the two started to head inside, talking fiercely under their breath. Shake stayed, leaning languidly against the doorframe, watching him with cool hazel eyes. Reno had never been a stickler for pressure - he was always outwardly casual. But in this case he was unsure. Was he supposed to go in? Stay? What?
The question was answered as Staniv turned back to him, Yuffie in tow. "Come, Reno. I suppose you need to actually hear about what is going on."
He noted the scowl that rolled across Shake's face as he walked past him, but the look was gone too fast for him to make anything of it. There was one thing he did realise, though, and that was that he was going to have to watch this man. He wouldn't overtly offer information, and he would more than likely be a hindrance to him no matter what the case.
The small group made their way down the hallway, and it was then Reno realised that he was perhaps the only one who had no idea what he was here for. However indirectly, this whole thing involved him, whether he wanted that to be the case or not. As they were seated in the meeting room he surveyed their expressions, noting with more than a little confusion the outcome was rather positive; Yuffie looked cheerful, and Staniv looked more than a little please himself. In a matter of taste, he ignored Shake, as did the others. So this couldn't be all bad then, right?
"What do you know, Reno, so far?"
Reno frowned and turned his head, casting a sidelong glance at Yuffie before dumping his light travel bag from his shoulders onto the floor. He smirked. "Everything up until the end of last night..."
"Nothing about this morning?"
"Not as of yet."
At this Staniv nodded, and Shake raised a derisive eyebrow, an unbecoming sneer on his face.
"This morning we received another note," Staniv began, hands clasped together in a common peacemaking gesture. "It was different in context to the others. It was unclear on a first reading what the actual outcome implied for Godo whatever the circumstance. However, I find it of high importance to note that you were also implicitly involved within it. That is Yuffie fetched you."
"Involved?" Reno repeated, not liking the sound of the word as it left his mouth. His eyes narrowed. This was no longer sounding so good. "What do you mean?"
The aide turned to the only female member in the room. "Yuffie?"
The ninja in question begun rummaging through her pockets, and eventually she pulled out a folded slip of paper. With a long arm,she flicked out her wrist, offering the sheet to the Turk.
"Great," the redheaded man muttered as his aquamarine eyes scanned the text through glasses he hadn't realised he still wore. "Just great." The Turk flicked his tinted shades from over his eyes and searched the gazes of those in the room. When he was done his eyes lingered on the younger member of the proceedings. "So what you should have said, is that not only is Godo in shit, but that I am too."
His words came out painfully blunt. Shake jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing in the lamp-lit room. "Yuffie risked herself to go and get you, you ingrateful-"
"That's enough, Shake," Staniv snapped, standing also, a cloaked arm placed palm-up in the air. "Enough." He eyed the Turk warily and seemed about to say something when there was a knock on the heavy door. All eyes turned and faced the young, shaven-headed boy in clerk's robes that entered the room. The boy bowed as he stepped in, his thin slippers making only a small scuffling sound on the wooden floor.
Staniv stepped forward at the boy's entry. "What is it?"
The boy bowed again. "A message of importance has arrived for you, sir. It is addressed as urgent. I was advised by Gorki to come and get you quickly."
Reno watched as the aide's expression changed to one of confusion, and he noted how Yuffie and he seemed to share an almost imperceptible glance. The communication was broken within a second. He turned back to the boy, who seemed to be unconsciously shifting his gaze back and forth between Yuffie and himself. The Turk winced at the boy's shaky smile. The only one who noticed this, was Shake.
"Gorki thinks it is urgent?"
"Yes, sir."
There was a sigh, after which Staniv spared a look at all in the room. He turned to the boy with a look strong enough to dismiss him, and then headed toward the door himself. "Then I shall meet with Master Gorki and discuss whatever matter he wishes. We will have to talk about this later. But this talk cannot be delayed, Turk. This is a matter that immediately concerns you, whether you like it or not. Would you be able to attend another meeting in an hour?"
Reno smirked at the fact he was being given a choice. He nodded, thinking of the evidence he had yet to report to the Police Station. "I've got other things I have to do today, anyway. An hour is fine."
"Then it's settled." And with that, the older aide left.
Reno turned to Yuffie as a thought occurred to him. "Why didn't you just show me what was in that note when you got to the hotel? I would have left sooner."
Yuffie shrugged. "It didn't occur to me." She paused and frowned. "You're going into town? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Yep. I've got to get some things, go to the Parole Office - the usual bullshit."
The brunette ninja offered only a sympathetic glance, but seemed unsure of what to make of his decision. "You're sure?"
Reno only offered her a wry smile and began to head out the door, pleading ignorance to the scowl that was painted on Shake's face. "Don't worry, I won't get your father killed, brat." He winked at Shake before leaving. "I'll see you in an hour."
As he left a derisive voice called through the wall. "Don't be late, Turk. Wouldn't want to mess up our little faith in you..."
Something in that last comment made Reno wish his nightstick was still in working order.
* * * * *
Reno looked at his watch and whistled as he realised he had only six minutes to get back to the meeting room. He hurried his pace along the streets and was soon standing before the large pagoda. He shook his head, wondering just why he was motivated to return so early merely under the influence of Shake's dark prompting. He soon discarded the thought, and instead made a mental note to collect the bag he hadn't realised he'd forgotten until it was too late.
As he walked inside, the Turk was stopped by a loud voice. He turned at the call.
"What?" Reno asked, noting Shake's singularly sour expression.
"Yuffie requested I escort you to your room."
Reno frowned. "My room? We have that meeting in a few minutes, remember?"
Shake's watery glare soldified into something much stronger, and the smaller man tensed, but didn't take the barb. "You'll be staying here tonight," he continued. He turned away and began walking down the hallway and up the continuous flights of stairs. "Follow me."
The Turk's eyes narrowed and he caught up, pacing himself right behind the man. The last thing he needed was to have his decisions made for him. "We haven't discussed just where I'll be staying tonight. That's what the meeting is for, among other things."
"I am only obeying Yuffie's requests, Turk. I would rather not have escorted you to your room at all, but she insisted."
"She insisted that I stay here," Reno stated bluntly.
"I've already said that."
"I thought she wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole?"
"You've read the note. Your situation is reminiscent of Godo's. If you leave this pagoda and get caught, you'll be killed. If so, then Godo is dead. Understand? She is merely tolerating you and taking the necessary precautions needed to return her father safely."
It made sense, but he didn't trust the words coming from Shake. He followed anyway, and they made their way in silence to a wide door. The smaller man fiddled with the key for a second, then stepped back as the heavy entrance swung open. Reno stepped into the doorway and took a look in.
Shake openly smirked at Reno's hesitance. He waved a negligent hand. "Take a look around. I'll be back to collect you in a minute. I'll escort you to the meeting - it's in a different conference room this time. The other one is being used." And with that Shake turned the corner to the hallway and walked away.
The Turk checked his watch for a second before entering the room. There was still about three minutes to go; enough time form him to sit down for more than half a second, and allow him to think on what had been going on. Complying with his thoughts, Reno didn't allow himself more than two seconds to glance around the room before seating himself down on the soft bed. Sitting back on the palms of his hands he allowed his chin to drift down to his chest while he thought about the feeling of unease that was forming deep in the pit of his stomach...
That was until a loud bang alerted him to a door being slammed. He looked up, and frowned. Said door was his.
Blaming his surprise on his lack of sleep, Reno darted forward to the door and turned the handle. It turned slightly, but the door didn't open. He tried a few times more, growing increasingly more frustrated and confused. Then realisation dawned upon him and he shook his head, slamming a gloved fist against the thick oak as he thought of Shake's previous statements. The short aide had locked him in to stop him from attending that meeting... and because of this, Yuffie and Staniv would think he had been careless enough not to show up!
'Real smart, Reno...' He clenched his teeth as he tugged at the handle. "Why you difficult little shit..."
He heard a distinct laugh after from behind the closed door, and as he pulled at the door again the volume of the humour continued to increase. He didn't have to look through the keyhole to see who it was.
Reno scowled. "And I suppose Yuffie requested you lock me in, too?"
But his only reply was a contemptuous, "Don't be late, Turk," before the man was gone.
Knowing that no attempt he could make would be good enough to budge the heavy door, Reno turned to look around the rest of the room in an effort to find some other way out. He closed his eyes and shook his head, realising that since he was on the third floor of the building the only windows that opened were the larger ones up the top - and even if he could make it out of them, this side of the Pagoda was as steep as the cliffs of Da Chao. Reno cursed, noting any real chance he had of getting out lay with his bag that he'd forgotten.
"Typical," he muttered, realising what an obvious trap he'd walked into. Shake's earlier words, his barbs, even his attitude had spat trouble. But he'd ignored his gut feeling, and hadn't he decided to keep an extra eye on him?
Reno turned around, cursed creatively under his breath, and began to devise a plan to get out of what he hoped would only be a small prison sentence.
* * * * *
Author's Notes: Well, this one took a little longer than usual, but that's probably because I'm doing mid-term exams at the moment, and they're not exactly my favourite things in the world. Lol. ... Not to mention we're moving into our new house. We didn't have internet or phones for a week because of the fact that the builders had poured concrete OVER our cables accidentally. Bloody idiots... ~_^
Ah well, thank you to everyone who's reviewed! Your criticism and comments are much appreciated, I just hope this story isn't boring you all! Next chapter will be up soon - in about a week. Thanks to anyone who's reading!
~Ealinesse.