Everything was ringing so loudly it hurt. He thought he'd probably burst his eardrums, but considering the fact that even the silence was painfully loud, he doubted that. Reno opened his eyes – or thought he did, considering all was dark anyway - and attempted to sit up. Apparently, that was a mistake.
"Oh, shit," he groaned as every muscle began to protest in pain. He fell back and clutched at his knee, which was yelling at him the loudest, and rolled onto his side, wondering how he hadn't noticed that earlier. His own voice sounded choked and gravely to his own ears, but at least he was alive, if not a little dented.
"You can say that again."
Reno frowned and finally managed to sit up, albeit on shaky arms. He belatedly realised he could breathe now without choking on a mouthful of smoke. For a second he thought he'd heard the voice merely as some kind of hallucination, but when it spoke again he knew that wasn't the case. He looked around blindly, struggling to find who it was in the inky darkness.
"At least you're awake now, I suppose."
That voice…
Reno's eyes widened. "Godo?"
"Indeed."
"So you are alive."
There was a short laugh. "That fall must have really scrambled your brains, Turk. I wouldn't be talking to you if I weren't. I told you who I was before you fell, now didn't I?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean that I believed you." Reno couldn't hide his confusion, and although it was dark as pitch, he knew that Godo sensed it. His brain continued to frazzle at the implications of this… as well as his stuff up.
"And fair enough, too."
Reno sighed. "I don't suppose we're getting out of here soon, are we? Especially with the rate that fire's going?"
"Doubt it. It's not so bad, though… if you like black."
Reno snorted and pulled himself gingerly against a nearby wall. Slowly, his eyes began to adjust vaguely to the darkness. As he watched he caught sight of a small glimmer of light in the corner, and the vague silhouette of the Lord of Wutai right next to it. Godo was slumped against a wall, his arms across his chest, his legs out in front of him. He wasn't moving.
"You hurt?"
There was a snort that echoed rudely around the chamber. "Of course not. I wasn't the one that fell through here head first."
"… With good reason," Reno muttered.
"Oh shut up. First thing's first, I have a very relevant question to ask."
"What's that?"
"Why the hell did Reeve send a Turk to Wutai?"
Reno winced. "Would you believe to keep an eye on the very same thug that kidnapped you?"
"You've got to be kidding. How long have you been here for?"
"Three days."
"And you were just sent to watch him? You know who he is? What he's doing here?"
"Yep."
"Well, then you know a damned sight more than me. Don't suppose you'd care to tell me how long I've been in here for?"
"You don't want to know."
"Correction. I do want to know."
"… Five days."
"Five days! Wutai'll be on its last legs!"
"No, actually Yuffie, Staniv and Shake have been doing a pretty good job of things, though the press are having a field day."
Godo went suddenly quiet, and Reno frowned. "What?"
"… Yuffie? How is she coping?"
Reno pressed the digital display on his watch, noting the time as the light switched on. He blew his breath out slowly through his lips and ran a hand through his hair. "We are going to be in here are while?"
"Don't doubt it, Turk."
"Well I guess I should begin at the start, then."
"Very appropriate, given that I've been stuck in a black hole for five days. Feel free to start anytime, Reno, I have a feeling we're going to be here a while, especially with the whole building coming down on top of us."
"That's just what Yuffie said."
* * * * *
Yuffie's eyes stung with tears that wouldn't come. Her eyes were dry, but she knew she should be weeping. As it was she was having a hard time staying awake, though the paramedic's constant pestering was keeping her that way. As her eyes began to slip closed again she pinched her arm, feeling herself jump with a trick that was now becoming quite old.
The alleyway was less crowded now, with there being less hurry to get people out. She knew there was no way anyone could be alive in there, but the way they had given that hope up seemed wrong. Reno had saved her life, it was only fair they try to help him.
And what about her father…?
It seemed even the fire-fighters had weakened their attempts. The building, now a smouldering pile of twisted wood and metal, could have been mistaken for any old burn-off. The fire had been prevented from extending to the other buildings in the area. Apparently, that was all that mattered.
Yuffie ducked her head and rearranged herself on the stretcher as hers legs began to fall asleep. She found her eyes focussed inexplicably on the fire, and she was unable to drag her gaze away as great plumes of smoke rose into the sky.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there when a shrill scream pierced the air. Yuffie turned as fast as her body would allow her, and her head throbbed in pain as she looked at the two new figures standing at the end of the alleyway. Even through her blurred vision she could see the looks on their faces, and the way the female gripped her hands together in worry.
As the two began to make their way reluctantly forward, Yuffie fought her way to her feet and teetered over to them. For a moment she thought she was going to fall as a wave of dizziness obscured her vision, but then a strong hand on her arm helped her to steady, and she looked up into Rude's dark eyes.
"… Reno?"
The word escaped the bald man's lips almost before she'd met his eyes, but the moment she looked at him she knew he could tell. She watched as his usually expressionless face adorned a look of puzzlement, but he said nothing more.
From beside him Elena visibly sagged. "Oh, gods. Please tell me he isn't in there." Her voice was but a breath, and even though they had been enemies in the past, Yuffie couldn't bring herself to be angered at the two.
Yuffie ducked her head and bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "He was fine, and then he went back in after someone."
Elena shook her head and walked off, her eyes glistening in the light of the fire. Yuffie watched as she reluctantly took one step after the other, forcing herself to face the reality of the situation. She saw her wipe at her eye, and realised idly that she was doing the same. She stood there for a moment, then lowered her gaze to the ground. Caught off guard, she wasn't prepared for the wave of dizziness that washed over her. She felt her knees weaken, and before she could stop herself she was on her knees on the ground.
"You're injured," spoke a voice next to her.
She sniffed indignantly, her eyes rooted firmly on Elena's figure. "I'm fine."
Rude took her arm, and more gently than she'd have thought possible for such a man, steered her over to the stretcher she'd been sitting on before. From somewhere he procured a blanket, and wrapped it around her shoulders before seating himself next to her. Through hazy eyes Yuffie met his gaze, noting for the first time that he didn't wear his sunglasses. She saw that his expression was unguarded, his brown eyes troubled. His gaze occasionally flickered imperceptibly to the fire, then to Elena, and back to herself. His confusion was evident by the set of his mouth, and how his head was tipped slightly to the side, as if he were trying to figure something out that was eluding him.
Yuffie clutched the blankets closer to her, feeling suddenly cold despite the fire not far away. "I s'pose you'll want to know what happened."
Rude nodded. "It's not often Reno runs into a fire twice in one day, especially on a surveillance mission."
Yuffie rubbed at her nose, watching Elena's stoic silhouette as she swayed ever so slightly in the firelight. "He went in after me."
"Ah. Now that makes more sense." Rude appraised her with a steady gaze.
"W-we did get out okay. He came in after me, and I-I wasn't sure why. He didn't give me a decent answer."
"… And then he went back in again."
"Yeah."
There was a sigh. "You know he'd never do that, though."
Yuffie looked up, confused. "Do what?"
"Give a straight answer to anyone he gets even close to give a damn about. He's too afraid of letting someone close."
Yuffie frowned. "What d'you mean?"
But Rude just shook his head and turned his gaze to the fire. "You know, I told him to stay out of trouble. It's not like he ever listens. I just thought, that perhaps it would work this time. As soon as we arrived I knew he'd be here. You wouldn't catch him without it. But you can always hope."
"But it's Reno, and Reno'll never change. Always doing it to impress people, never mind that it's not good for him." This came from Elena, who'd moved to stand next to them. Yuffie watched as she sunk down next to Rude, her head coming to rest tiredly on his shoulder. She tried to ignore the tears that seeped through Elena's closed eyes, but instead found herself wiping at her own.
Why did things always have to happen this way?
* * * * *
Reno paused mid-note for a moment before going on to finish the tune. When he was done with Yankee Doodle he moved onto the next one, and then the next. Ten minutes later he was out of tunes altogether, so he began the vicious cycle again. It was something he'd done years ago when he'd been stuck in the Shinra sewers, and hey, it had passed the time until he'd found his way out. This, he figured, was no different.
There came a groan from somewhere in the distance, and Reno looked up to see Godo plastering his hands to his ears. "Will you stop that mundane whistling, already?"
Reno snorted and shrugged. "It's not like there's anything else to do in here."
"No, but at least there's oxygen. Most of which, I might add, you're using up by tunelessly frolicking your way through every simple piece of music you've ever heard of."
"Well what else are we supposed to do?"
"Try being patient."
"Patience isn't a virtue that I'm well aware of, Godo, my man."
"Well perhaps it's time you learnt. It's where you shut your mouth and keep it shut for as long as you can."
Reno tipped his head back against the wall and began cracking his knuckles. After every one had given in with a satisfying pop, he pressed himself to his hands and knees and started to crawl painfully around the room, feeling the walls and floor for any little surprises they might hide. His knee began to throb harder, but he ignored it. If he didn't do something soon he was going to go crazy.
"What are you doing now?"
"What does it look like? I'm killing my boredom by scavenging."
"Don't you think I've already tried that?"
"Yes, but I've got to do something."
"Why bother? The walls and roof are solid metal construct. So is the hatch that you fell through. There are no holes, merely an air vent in the bottom of the wall to my left that must somehow be filtered outside, as there isn't any smoke coming in. The metal is, I guess, what is keeping the whole place from collapsing in around us. The floor is not even worth mentioning, although, I warrant that I've spent most of my time here on it. Personally, I don't think digging downwards is going to get us anywhere. Did I mention the ten ton of flaming rubble now sitting on top of us?"
Reno shot Godo a blunt look.
"Is there anything I've forgotten?"
There was a brief pause. "Just one thing."
"And what would that be, Reno?"
"Just that nothing you say is going to stop me from searching this goddamned room anyway."
* * * * *
"You know, I keep half-expecting him to just walk out of there, whistling some stupid song and looking as happy as he had the day he pulled that joker prank on Reeve."
"Or as half-fried as the time when he set your office's curtains on fire."
"Or when – what?"
"A year and a half ago Reno set your curtains on fire by accident. He left the ashtray on the windowsill and the curtains were pulled. They caught fire sometime when Reno left the room. About a minute later he came back before pulling them off. The next time I saw him he was throwing the bloody things into the restroom's sink trying to put the flames out. He set the smoke alarms off all over the building and it took him ages to get them stopped. As it was, he shot four of them down to shut them up."
"And why didn't he tell me this?"
Rude shrugged. "He didn't see any need to. It took him a whole day to find matching curtains, and he threatened the upholsterer bodily harm if they weren't finished by three that day."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. He was standing behind the poor guy the whole time he was sewing with his nightstick. Turned out they were finally finished ten minutes before you got back."
"Oh, gods. What was he doing in my office, anyway?"
"Yours is the only one with an open window. He was dying for a smoke, or so he said."
Elena sighed and pulled herself in closer to Rude at the end of the stretcher, while Yuffie snuggled herself further into her blanket, closing her eyes to hide the remains of the fire from her sight. Staniv and Shake were off with the emergency services just outside the alley. They'd left her here with the other two Turks reluctantly, but she would not be moved. The sky couldn't be seen well through the smoke, though tinges of pink that weren't just from the fire streaked across the sky. She had stayed the whole night, and it was fast approaching dawn. She wasn't moving until at least then.
Most of the firemen had left, and the few still there were checking for hotspots, hoses in hand. They were walking around the remains of the building like it was a normal day. The way they sauntered through the rubble carelessly sickened her. Yuffie scowled. Would they at least search? Wasn't trying better than nothing?
Elena looked up at Yuffie through half-lidded eyes. She watched as the girl's face flickered with constant emotion before settling into an unhappy scowl. She could see her tears had dried up, but that didn't mean they weren't there. She saw the way she gripped the blanket like a lifeline.
"Yuffie?"
"… Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about your father."
Yuffie lowered her eyes and picked at the blanket. " 's okay."
Elena nodded, a small frown settling on her petite features. She turned back to the smoking pile of rubble and bit her lip, trying to stop her own tears from coming. She could imagine what Reno would say if he saw her like this.
Elena, don't act so weak…
There came a small sigh from her left. "Elena? Rude?"
"Mm?"
"Sorry about Reno. I-"
"It's all right," Elena finished quickly. "Reno makes his own choices. He told us that during Meteor, and he hasn't stopped telling us. He knew the risk involved on this mission, even though it was just surveillance. Though I doubt he ever guessed this."
"… No."
The two woman resettled, while Rude continued to stare at the fire, entranced. His gaze occasionally flickered to Yuffie, who seemed to be caught up in her own little world, her hand gripping her arm almost absently, her hands running along the line of a fresh scar.
Rude couldn't stop the frown that settled across his face. How had Reno managed to get so caught up in all of this? He shook his head, holding back the beginnings of a rueful smile. 'I don't suppose I'm ever going to quite figure that one out. You always were leaving us guessing, my friend.'
"How could he do this to us, Rude?" he heard Elena whisper against his neck. "Why did he leave us?"
He shook his head, his eyes never leaving the spot. Any words he chose offered no explanation.
* * * *
Reno settled back against the wall and groaned as he probed at his knee. From his little trip around the room it had begun aching fiercely, though he didn't think he'd broken anything; he'd just landed on it slightly wrong. God forbid him ever doing anything right. He hadn't tried standing on it yet, though he guessed the outcome would probably be less than favourable.
"Did you find anything while you were gallivanting around the room? Any hidden passageways? Trapdoors? Beer?"
Reno smirked. "Ha, ha, old man."
There was a moment's silence. "So I'd imagine Shake was greatly enthused by your involvement in this."
"Well he did lock me in one of your guest rooms."
"You're joking."
"It turned out fine, though. I got out, and he got in shit. End of story."
"With Staniv?"
"With Staniv."
"Ouch."
"Exactly what I said, though he didn't greatly value my opinion."
"I can't imagine he would."
They went quiet, with nothing else to say. After a moment Reno began picking at his gloves, a low whistle beginning under his breath.
"Turk?"
Reno winced. "Yeah?"
"I believe I'm bored enough to join you this time."
Reno grinned and shook his head. He began whistling again, raising his eyebrows when another whistle rose up from beside him. They were halfway through the Incy Wincy Spider when Reno heard the tune to his left drop off temporarily. He stopped, half expecting to be told to shut up.
"Oh, and Turk?"
"Yep?"
"Not a word."
Reno snorted and resumed his boredom.
* * * * *
Rude resettled himself uncomfortably on the stretcher, looking down at the bobbing head resting on the crook of his neck. He could hear Elena's breathing coming quieter now, and he knew she was sleeping. It had been a long, boring trip here, and an even longer night. And though it was well past dawn, he had no intentions of leaving just yet. No one was going to tell him otherwise.
He closed his eyes for a moment and let his shoulders slump. He still expected Reno to walk out of there any moment, and he was going to hold onto that meagre hope as long as he could.
Rude glanced at Yuffie out of the corner of his eye, watching as her eyes began to slip closed. He looked at his watch. Seven-forty. She still couldn't afford to sleep yet, not by the way the paramedic had sounded.
"Yuffie."
She jumped at the sound, looking around quickly for the source of the voice. He watched as she stared past him to the remains of the building for a moment before focussing her bleary eyes on him.
"Thanks," she whispered, ducking her head. Her fingers again traced the scar, though Rude didn't comment. At least she was awake.
He nodded in acquiescence and again felt his eyes drawn toward the remains of the fire. It was but a smoking black pile now, and one plank of charred wood was barely indiscernible from the next. Everything in the area seemed to be covered in a fine layer of grey ash or foam. He bit back a sigh and instead focussed on the firemen as they went about their work, picking their way through the rubbish, hosing the occasional spot and moving on to the next.
Rude wasn't sure how long he'd been watching them before one man jumped back, startled by something in the rubble. He couldn't hear much over the hoses, but the way he was reacting it looked like he'd found more than he'd bargained for. He continued to watch the scene with interest, leaning forward ever so slightly with his eyes narrowed. What they were doing he couldn't tell, but something was drawing him to it.
As one of the men called the other and pointed to a particular spot in the debris-strewn ground emphatically, Rude began to stand slowly, forgetting that Elena's head was resting on his shoulder. He heard a dull thump next to him and glanced quickly to his left, eyeing Elena as she pushed herself groggily to her feet.
"Jeez, Rude. What the… What?"
Rude shook his head slowly, his eyes fixated on the spot. He began to make his way to the beginnings of the rubble. "I'm not sure."
"Then-"
"Shh!"
Elena paused mid-stride, her gaze on Rude's back as he also stopped dead. She took a wary step forward, shadowing her partner's movements as he did the same. "What is it?" she whispered.
"Listen."
Elena fell silent, not sure what to think. But when an uncannily familiar whistle rose up into the stiff morning breeze, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She dared not breathe in case the sound went away, and warily she saw Rude take a faltering step forward. She shook her head slowly, hope blossoming in her chest as she spotted for the first time the emergency services cluttering around a spot on the ground, talking hastily.
"Please," she breathed as she moved ever-closer to the spot. "Come on, Reno."
When they reached the beginnings of the rubble a man dressed in the brilliant yellow dressings of a fireman stepped out in front of them.
"I'm sorry, but you two are going to have to wait here. There may still be some hot spots and it isn't safe should any of them flare up again."
Rude eyed the sopping rubble in front of them, raising an eyebrow at the way the foam dripped off the occasional plank of wood or metal. He turned back to the man, watching the way he shifted from foot to foot nervously. He said nothing.
"L-look. We can't let you through there."
Elena, who had stepped up beside him, snorted rudely. "Enough with the excuses. What have you found over there?"
The man turned briefly back to the spot where all the fire fighters were clustered. "We've found something."
"I can see that. What I can't see is what."
"Well – uh… I'm not able to disclose that information to you, ma'am."
Rude shook his head and took a step forward, grabbing the man's protective suiting and pulling him off his feet to a position level with his concealed eyes. "I think you'd better," he muttered. "Now what is it?"
"W-well t-there's two men in an underground hatch there, sir. We've only managed to get a name out of one of them, b-because he wouldn't stop swearing at us long enough to let the other one speak."
"And what was his name?" Elena asked quietly.
"Oh, jeez," the man said hoarsely as he cast a nervous glance back at the ground. Rude lifted him higher, and his feet left the ground completely. "Okay! Okay! He said his name was Santa Claus, all right? I ain't shitting ya!"
Elena snorted in disbelief, while Rude dropped the man back to his feet and pushed past him.
"Reno?"
"Reno," the bald Turk confirmed.
Rude moved quickly, avoiding the haphazardly strewn debris as much as he could. It didn't take him long to reach the desired spot and quickly he pushed his way to the front of the people, with Elena trailing only slightly behind. He looked down at the spot, then up at the men who were surrounding it.
"What are you just standing there for?" Elena demanded. "Why aren't you getting them out?"
It seemed to take them a moment to register that the two Turks standing there certainly weren't firemen.
"What are you doing here?" one of them spoke up. "You can't be here. You're civilians."
"Oh god, do I really have to do this?" she muttered. When she was met only with icy glares, she reached into her blazer's pocket and pulled out her identification card. "We're Shinra," she offered helpfully. "We ain't civilians, got it?"
"I – we're sorry, miss. We didn't know."
The blonde smirked and turned to Rude, who was still eyeing the barely recognisable spot. She could still hear the faint whistling rising through the ground, and she ducked her head as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"So why aren't you getting them out?"
There was a sigh from within the crowd. "We're waiting for the lifting equipment for the beams, miss. We can't move them until then."
"You don't need equipment!" She glanced at Rude. "Shall I go get it?"
"I think so."
As Elena bustled off Rude crouched down by the indistinguishable spot, his hand passing just over top of the rubble without actually touching it. "Reno?" he called loudly.
The decadent whistling abruptly stopped. "Rude?"
"… Yes."
There was a moment's silence. "What the hell are you doing here!"
"We arrived back early, so Reeve sent us early."
"You mean he was checking up on me?"
"No, actually, he just said that he had a hunch you'd find trouble."
From somewhere in the confines of the cell, Reno snorted. "You guys have so much confidence in me."
"Well founded confidence, Reno." But no matter what he did he couldn't keep the relief or the amusement out of his voice.
Reno, apparently, noticed it. "You wouldn't be going all goggly-eyed on me, now would ya, Rude?"
At that moment Elena appeared by his side, holding a glowing green orb, giving him reason enough not to answer. As soon as she stopped she abruptly cast the Protect spell on Rude and herself, then bent down to begin lifting, her petite features contorting with the effort of lifting some of the heavy debris. Beside her Rude was tossing away items effortlessly.
After a second she stood and eyed the men watching them warily. "On second thought," she said, and cast the same spell on the surrounding firemen. "Get lifting!"
* * * * *
Rude lifted the last charred beam and threw it negligently onto the top of the pile that had been hastily created by their scavenging. He turned back to the cleared section. On first glance of the immediate area he found nothing, given that most of the wooden floor had been burnt away in the fire. But when he crouched closer he spotted a faint outline patterned in amongst the dust and ash, and he shook his head in disbelief as he quickly wiped at the spot with his hand.
"How the hell do you do it, Reno," Elena whispered beside him, as she eyed the metal framework of what must have been a holding cell. She watched as Rude began to feel around the small square outline that they'd recovered, trying to find anything of enough leverage to pull it open.
Eventually Rude felt his hands close around a tiny latch. He unhooked it deftly and began pulling when he found a small, hollow circle big enough for him to put his fingers in. When it didn't budge, he held back a curse. He tried again countless times, but the hatch was either stuck, or too heavy for him to lift. He sat back, confused as to how Reno could have gotten in there so easily by himself.
"Rude?" came a voice from below him.
"Yes?"
"Thought you might like to know, buddy, the hatch opens downward."
Elena sniggered, while Rude shook his head. "Don't suppose you could have told us that sooner," she called down.
"Nah, takes all the fun out of it."
Sure enough, when Rude pushed on the hatch it opened relatively easily, though when he let go it shut itself with a snap. Comprehension dawned on him. "So that's how they survived," he muttered to himself. The hatch had closed itself, effectively blocking the smoke and the flames out of the metal enclosure.
The next time he pushed on the lid someone held it down for him, and instead of bothering to check who, he peered down into the darkness of the cell, even as the light reached inside. He leaned closer when he didn't see anything. He was about to call out when a familiar figure moved into his immediate view.
"G'day," Reno grinned up at him as he stood, wincing at the sudden intrusion of light. "What took you so long." The redhead flicked his sunglasses down over his eyes after giving his friend a conspiratory wink.
Rude appraised his partner with a steadfast look, barely hiding his relief. It wasn't until he saw him that Rude felt any illusions about his partner's fate drop. Reno was distributing his weight heavily on one leg, the other one placed gingerly on the ground with caution. He could see numerous cuts and abrasions on his visible skin, and his filthy shirt was in tatters. He seemed remarkably free of burns, and, remembering the spell he'd cast on himself moments earlier, Rude realised why. He looked closer, noticing the small gash Reno had on his temple. He was covered in layer upon layer of soot, his face as dirty as the rest of his clothing, but he appeared no worse for wear.
"You look like shit."
"Better than a pile of charred bones."
"You used the other Protect Materia," Rude surmised.
Reno picked at his tattered clothing disgustedly. "Until it ran out."
Rude snorted and proceeded to examine the room. There was no way he'd be able to lean down and pull Reno out, the room was at least four metres deep. He turned to a man who was peering over the hole beside him. "Get me a ladder."
"Got one," came a distinctly female voice over the sudden commotion of the firemen.
Rude looked up at Elena, who had disappeared at one moment in time only to reappear with a collapsible ladder at her disposal. The size of the large metal object dwarfed her smaller frame, though he resisted the urge to comment, and instead helped her extend its frame and lower it into the hole. Hearing the solid clunk as the item hit the floor, Rude leaned forward further.
"Come on up."
"Yeah, yeah." Reno grabbed the ladder with a firm grip, muttering to himself as he struggled to climb it with an injured leg. His progress was slow, and countless times he cursed at his partners, who stood watching him the whole time. When he finally reached the top he sunk down over the hatch's exit and closed his eyes in relief as Rude bent over to allow the last person up.
"Reno."
"Mmm?"
"Where are you hurt?"
Reno opened his eyes as Elena crouched over him, her eyes scanning him for injuries with worry. For lack of anything better to do, he cuffed her upside the head and forced his aching body into a sitting position, a quick grin plastered on his face. "I'm fine, 'Laney. We can deal with me later, it's the other person we should be focussing on."
"And whose that?"
Reno dropped his head back to the ground and closed his eyes. "Why don't you take a look for yourself."
Elena shook her head and peered over the top of the hatch as a second figure emerged into the light. She blinked once, then twice, her eyes widening in disbelief as she watched the large man scale the ladder. When he was halfway to the top, she eyed the grimy man with confusion as he himself blanched at the sudden invasion of light. This wasn't making sense.
She leaned into Rude. "I'm not seeing things, am I?"
Rude just shook his head and helped the man up without a word as he reached the top of the hatch. Hadn't the headlines said that Godo was dead? He looked up at the firemen, trying to judge their reaction to this discovery. It wasn't hard to notice. Rude watched as the men clustered around the hole took a hesitant step backward, shaking their heads in disbelief as they muttered and pointed in shock. So Reeve hadn't been ill informed. Godo had been presumed dead.
Rude extended his arm as the man struggled to stand, nodding as the man took the offered help. "Good to see you safe, sir."
Godo nodded from under shielded eyes, watching as various men began to move in around them. "I'll bet. Now get all these idiots away from me, I've got my daughter to see to."
* * * * *
Yuffie pulled her blanket closer to her body as the morning wind picked up. In the distance she watched as the two Turks stood and made their way over to the rubble, where something was going on. Too tired to pay attention she watched with a half-lidded gaze, not really comprehending the whole situation even though her eyes were on it. She sighed, not sure what Elena and Rude were up to, but then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
… That was, until a very familiar voice broke through the haze in her mind.
"Out of the road, peoples! VIP coming through!"
Yuffie looked up, sure she was hearing things. It wasn't possible. Not logical. Not even probable. She leaned forward, unable to see anything through the crowd of firemen as they began to cluster around a central point. She waved her hand irritably as the men obscured her vision, then, convinced it was all a trick she shook her head, about to focus her attention elsewhere. That was when the face appeared to match the voice.
"Hello, Yuff. Not happy to see me?"
She blinked, unbelieving, wanting to tear her deceiving eyes away from the figure lest she get her heart broken again. But all doubt was removed as that figure approached her, the most infectious grin she had ever seen lighting up his soot-covered features. She could only watch as he crouched gingerly in front of her, his eyes warm and glittering with mirth, like cheating death was the biggest kick in the world.
"But how…" Her voice seemed to disappear altogether as her mouth gaped, and she shook her head again as if to clear it. Any relief she felt was hidden by her hesitancy. This wasn't right.
Reno took his weight off Elena's shoulder for only a second as he leaned forward to ruffle Yuffie's hair. He grinned at her, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Maybe Tseng was right after all," he said mysteriously, winking.
"… What?"
"Faith."
She was about to ask him what he meant, about to ask him to repeat himself, but just then her eyes caught on something else; someone she never thought she'd see again in her life. Her ability for rational thought stopped completely this time, and she barely noticed as Reno moved away from her to allow the other person through.
"It can't be… You're dead," she whispered, though her heart pounded in defiance as she fervently wished the statement to be untrue.
"Now that isn't a very nice thing to say to your father."
Reno leaned into Godo, offering a conspiratory wink. "Never mind that first comment. She said the same thing to me last time. She seems to get past it eventually."
If she hadn't been so shocked by the sight of the two ghosts in front of her, she would have found something to say. She would have stood, punched Reno, and hugged her father so fiercely it hurt. But she couldn't even move. She was paralysed by her fear that both weren't real, and that both would disappear if she so much as blinked.
But when her father pulled her into a hug all of his own power, and she felt the prickle of his growing beard against her face, and the familiar silk of his shirt, she knew she wasn't dreaming. Ghosts weren't solid, and now Reno and her father were alive. She didn't care how, and she didn't care why.
Have a little faith…
She allowed herself to close her eyes against Godo's cheek, an indescribable joy filling her as she let warm tears flow from her eyes. And this time, they were tears of happiness.
* * * * *
"Lord Godo?"
The small group clustered at the Pagoda's entranceway turned to face Shake, who was standing just outside their circle. In the light of the late morning it was evident he was on edge, his expression guarded.
"Yes?"
"We're off schedule. You have the meeting at the Police Station in twenty minutes, and there are still some final details to go through."
"All right, Shake. I'll be there in a minute."
This answer seemed to satisfy the shorter aide and he turned to leave, though not without offering the briefest of nods to Reno, Rude and Elena. At this acknowledgement Reno cocked his head. It hadn't been a look of companionship, but one of understanding. Of thanks?
When he turned back to Godo he was offered the wryest of smiles.
"Well, Leviathon forbid me for getting off schedule. It seems I've missed a lot in the past week or so, and I guess it's about time I made up for it."
Reno smirked at Shake's receding form. "Don't let me stop you."
Godo nodded with a small frown. He looked about to leave, then as if on second thought he paused under the entrance of the Pagoda, his expression thoughtful. "I know I'm going to regret saying this, Reno, but I do owe you one." And then he turned and walked briskly away, leaving Yuffie face to face with the three Turks.
"Well that was certainly interesting," Elena muttered under her breath. When no one else replied to her comment she frowned, noting how everything had gone uncomfortably silent. She looked up to see Yuffie eyeing the group warily, outnumbered and unsure of herself. She frowned, about to comment when a sharp elbow jabbed her in the ribs.
"Ow! What!"
But Rude didn't answer, merely jerked his chin toward Reno. Elena noted the small frown on the redhead's face, and the raised eyebrow hidden behind his dark sunglasses. When, in that small moment there still wasn't so much as a breath out of place, Elena sighed, running a hand through her hair. It looked like she was going to have to make the excuses this time.
"Yuffie?"
Yuffie looked up from the ground. "Mm?"
"We called a cab about ten minutes ago, and if we have any sense then we'll wait for it before it drives off on us. Rude and I are going to wait for it, because there's some things we've got to do beforehand at the Parole Office. And besides, Reno's too slow for us at the moment, the cab'll leave before we even get to the station."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you guys around then, huh?"
Elena smiled. "Will do. Make sure Reno doesn't walk around on his leg too much before we come back with the cab, all right? He hasn't let us heal the damned thing yet, and he's probably going to do it more bad than good."
Yuffie nodded. "All right."
Reno, who had felt more than seen the exchange between Rude and Elena moments before, narrowed his eyes. "What am I, a wuss? I can-"
"We'll see you back here, Reno." He was silenced by Elena's patent glare. The blonde turned to Yuffie, nodded, and left with Rude trailing just behind her without further comment.
Reno frowned as he watched them leave. He knew what she was doing, and yes his leg did hurt like hell, but he only hoped like hell she'd come back soon with the cab. This goodbye was going to be more than uncomfortable, and though he was a Turk, it didn't necessarily make things any easier. He watched as Yuffie took a seat on the steps just below them.
"So… "
Hiding any expression from his face Reno hesitantly took a seat next to her. "So?"
"Dad's right, you know. We do owe you."
Reno shrugged. "Shake isn't going to like that much."
"I'm sure. He really doesn't want to have to pay for the room he locked you in, but he said he's doing it out of honour."
"So he does regret locking me in that room, huh?"
"More than likely, if not only because how much it's going to cost him so much."
They fell into silence, and Reno watched out in the distance for a black cab. Not seeing one, he sighed and ran a hand over his face in frustration. He narrowed his eyes against the glare. Why did the morning seem so bright even through his glasses?
"… Reno?"
"Yeah?"
There was a sigh to his right. "I still don't understand why you came in after me. You didn't have to do that - come get me, I mean."
'That makes two of us that have no idea….' "What makes you think I'd do it just for the perks?"
"It just seems like…"
"No, Yuff."
"Well then…"
Reno flipped his sunglasses up onto his head and looked her square in the eye. "You saved my life, I saved yours. We're more than square." He offered her a wry grin. "Trust me, the last person in the world you want to be owing is a Turk."
"But-"
"Enough!" Reno laughed. "You don't owe me, all right? I did what was fair. Did you leave me stranded in the fields when I could no longer walk?"
"Well… no." Yuffie felt a small smile creep across her face and the tension was broken. "Can I admit I was tempted to?"
Reno snorted. "Can I admit that I was tempted to cuff you upside the head every time you punched me in my hotel room?"
Yuffie ducked her head with a grin. "Sorry."
He shrugged. "Never mind, it was fair enough at the time."
"… Yeah."
"So I guess you're staying home for a while?"
"I think so. There's the idea of a new psychologist to deal with, and also we've got to do further research on the men that were in with Carlos."
"You caught the one that I cuffed to the building?"
"Yes. He's being trialled next week."
"Good. That little shit was nothing but trouble."
Yuffie smirked, then sobered as she watched Reno stare out into the distance, waiting for sight of the cab. She toyed with the hem of her top. "They were really worried about you, you know."
Reno shrugged, frowning. "They worry too much. I'm not an invalid."
"I know." Yuffie fell silent, not sure what to say next. She felt like she owed him more than just that. But how was she supposed to tell him she was worried too? She bit her lip. "… Reno?"
"Mmhmm?"
"I… Thank you,."
"What?"
He turned to her, only to find himself suddenly enveloped in a bear hug so tight he could barely breathe. He hesitated for a moment as he looked over her shoulder, wary of the people around him before he cautiously put his arms around her, returning the gesture. He frowned. When was the last time someone had given him a hug…
"How would I have known my father was alive if you hadn't come after me?" Yuffie whispered against his cheek. "I would have been dead myself… I…. "
Reno shook his head emphatically. He put his hand on her shoulders and pushed her gently away so he could look her in the eye. "You would have found a way, Yuff."
Yuffie smiled, and Reno noticed the tears she was struggling to hold back. He wiped a tear off her cheek as she sniffed and lowered her eyes. "You've got your father back now. What more could you ask for? There's no need for tears wasted, especially on a Turk."
She nodded imperceptibly and looked up again. When her gaze didn't waver from a spot Reno followed her line of sight, recognising the familiar outline of the cab Elena had called. He stood quickly, slinging his back over his shoulder, offering a hand to Yuffie so she could stand.
"Well, that's me," he said. He offered her a quick grin and released the hand she hadn't quite let go of. "Take care of yourself, all right? No more burning buildings."
She nodded, her expression steady. "All right."
"See you around." He winked at her and turned on his heel as he heard the car pull up at the base of the steps, and began limping his way down them, flicking his sunglasses over his eyes to keep his expression unreadable. He had barely gotten halfway before a voice called out behind him.
"Hey, Reno?"
He turned to see her holding a glowing green orb in her hand, watched as she struggled to keep her own expression under control. He cocked his head and distributed his weight onto his uninjured leg. "… Yeah?"
"Uh… I borrowed this."
He caught the item easily in one hand as she threw it through the air. He looked down at the Materia and frowned as he scanned it with his mind. He shook his head. "This isn't mine. Neither of my Fire materia are that strong."
There was a short laugh. "Oh, I've had that one since the sky cab crashed."
"You kept it! Then why-"
"I mastered it when I cast the spell on Carlos and the rest of the building."
"You're kidding."
Yuffie smirked. "Nope. It's yours all right."
"Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath. He turned to leave when she didn't say anything else, but was stopped again by another voice.
"Oh, and Reno!"
He rubbed his hand over his face, holding back a smirk as his amusement tried to get the better of him. "Yep?"
He watched as Yuffie struggled to keep her face straight, as she struggled to shrug negligently. She threw two more items back at him, and he caught them with no less ease. "What are these for?"
There was a nervous laugh. "Well – uh… They're the other two I, uh-"
"You mean you didn't give me all my materia back when I asked you to!"
"Well… no."
Reno finally allowed the laugh that bubbled up inside his chest to escape. "Anything else I should know about?"
Yuffie assumed a puzzled expression before answering. "Uh… Nope."
"Good." Reno made his way to the car, his hand pausing above the door handle as he waited for her to say something else. He swore under his breath at the expectancy, and opened the back door hastily when not so much as a word was uttered. He ignored the curious glances from Rude and Elena as he sat down on the bucket seats, and instead focussed on closing the door. He did so a lot more reluctantly than he would have liked, and it was nearly closed before he heard her voice again.
"… Still owe you one."
He slammed open the door and leapt out, hand clutching the Fire Materia tightly. He clearly heard her laugh as she fled into the Pagoda before he could so much as comment.
"Save the materia for the paperwork, Turk," he heard her yell back.
Sinking back into the seat Reno lowered his gaze, trying to ignore Elena as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Eventually his temper got the best of him. "What!"
"Oh, nothing," Elena muttered absently, turning away with the smallest of frowns marring her petite features.
Reno scowled, looking down at the materia. As the cab moved away he cast a sidelong glance out of the corner of his eye, catching the briefest glimpse of brunette hair and a wide grin just behind the Padoda's large columns before it was soon out of sight. He didn't pursue the matter, though he couldn't help the slow grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He kept his head turned, looking down at the glowing spheres as he struggled to hide his expression from his partners.
"Damned brat," he muttered under his breath as he eyed the materia she'd returned. "Nothing but a damned brat."
Unconsciously his gaze flickered back to the spot where he'd last seen her, only to find that there was nothing there but the row of trees that separated the Pagoda from the city. The Pagoda was gone and so was she.
He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, readjusting his sunglasses in an effort to compose himself. "Goddamn it, Reno, you are getting soft." But his grin didn't go away for a long time, and no matter how he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd left something very important behind.
~FIN
* * * * * *
I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact that everyone can see these scars
I am what I want you to want what I convince you to feel
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe this is real
So I let go, watching you, turn you back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got.
-Linkin Park, Faint.
* * * * *
Author's Notes:
Well, there we go. I'm finished, and in only one more chapter. I'm only sorry it all took so long to get done, though, but I can finish on a good note and say that I *did* get it all finished! I hope you all liked it.
OH! NOTE 2: This story has been utterly REVISED – another reason it took me so long to post this last one, as I decided it needed reworking before I posted this last chapter. My writing style is very wordy (in case you haven't noticed), and the chapters I've read over have been updated and (hopefully) improved for the better. Many have been cut drastically.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far, and please continue to do so! (Subtle hint ~_^)
Now the decision remains as to whether I should continue with writing my *next* story, or quit while I'm behind? ^^ Feel free to reply with a response, hehe.
Cheers for now!
~Ealinesse.
PS: Lyss: Thank you for your reviews. I was in the process of re-doing my chapters when I got your reviews, and I couldn't help but hope that no one would read this fic again until I'd updated it… I hope I've improved some, and I hope the new chapters aren't too disappointing for you. ^_^