Est Sularas Oth Mithas
Yuffie Kisaragi2
LAST TIME:
"Guess we'll either share or you're on the floor, then," she said sarcastically. Against both of their wishes, Reno slept on the floor. One, because he was afraid he might do something in his sleep that would get certain parts of his anatomy sliced off and, two, because he didn't feel quite comfortable around her yet.
Of course, he told himself mentally, I could always "sleep walk" and end up in bed... Shaking his head, he decided against it. Next time, he promised himself, we're getting a room with two beds or we're sharing.
Chapter Six
The next morning, Yuffie put on her suit and black Converse sneakers (she refused to wear those "lame-o" black dress shoes). Reno was still asleep, so she quietly sneaked downstairs. The keep nodded at her. "Mornin', Miss Jasmine. Ogden's down in the basement. Don't think he knows yer here yet." His eyes watched her as she walked proudly across the bar toward another door.
Feeling his eyes on her, the Turk nodded and went downstairs, her heart in her throat. With the trained ease of a ninja, she made her way down the rickety boarded stairs.
A tall man with shaggy black hair that brushed his shoulders sat in a chair in the middle of the room. He wore black jeans and a black muscle shirt that showed off his well-built abdominal muscles. "Jasmine?" He asked with a Sean Connery accent.
"Y-yeah, Drake, it's me." She mentally cursed herself for stuttering, but it had been so long since shed last seen him. Too long, her mind added un-neededly. The young man opened his eyes, which always made the ninja shudder. His eyes were crystal blue... completely, save for the whites. They had no pupils. He was undoubtedly blind. His young face was handsome, and he looked only about twenty or twenty-one.
He leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs. "Careful sayin' that, Yuffs. There've been people round here again lookin' for you and me again."
Yuffie smiled sadly to herself and played with the ring on the silver necklace. "Kay, Ogden. I.. uh.. I'm a.. a Turk now."
"Awesome," it was as pleasant as she had expected. He'd never like the Turks, so why would he be happy that she'd become one? "Listen, Jaz," he was very serious. "You and Mr. Turksin are already raising suspiscions. You have got to get out of here soon."
"I will, Ogden. I just need need to do something first."
Drake sighed heavily, his eyes flickering closed for a brief moment, then opening once again. "Your friend, I suppose?"
Yuffie nodded, though he could not see her. Swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in her throat. "Yeah. He.. He killed himself..."
Drake shook his head stubbornly. "He did not! The demon inside of him killed him! Chaos pulled that trigger, not him!"
The ninja Turk felt that stubborn side rear its ugly head in her stomach. "No, Chaos may have pushed him to the limit.. But Vinnie-"
Someone walked down the basement steps and they quickly got quiet. Drake held his hand up high and brought it down quickly, telling her to get down and hide.
"Ms. Jasmine?"
Yuffie hid in the shadows. The voice belonged to Chad, the local pimp and member of Johnson's Clan. She despised him; he wanted her... In more ways than one. Drake stood slowly, his blind eyes searching the room in vain effort.
"She left, Chad. Get out of here!"
The tall, lanky, greasy-haired pimp grinned. "Aw, c'mon, now, Ogden. Where's your little girlfriend hiding?" A switch blade flashed in his hand. "I heard that she came last night with some red head. Did she leave ya, Og? Ran off to find excitement elsewhere?"
Yuffie's fists clenched as the man walked toward her friend. She saw Drake's jaw clench and could not risk letting her friend get hurt. "What the hell do you want?" She stepped out and the dim light fell across her suit, leaving her face in the shadows still. Navy-grey eyes stared intently on the pimp, his switchblade hovering to close to Drake for her liking.
Chad grinned again and put his switchblade up. Gold rings glittered on all of his fingers and a gold tooth took the place of one of his front teeth. Everything about him screamed 'grease ball' at the female Turk. "Jasmine, bay-bee! How ya doin', honey?"
"Listen, scuz ball, what do you want?" Fire was in the Turk's eyes. She knew that if he found out who she actually was, she'd probably die in an instant. All the more reason for her to put him out of his misery.
"Aw, Jazzy, baby! You know I love you!" Yuffie spat on him. "God dammit!" he cursed vilely, wiping the saliva off his arm.
"But, Chaddy-poo! I though you loved me," she said in a whiny, childish tone.
He was across the room in a split second, his switchblade out and ready. She avoided him easily by stepping off to the side. This, obviously pissed him off and he lunged for her again. This time, she stuck out her foot and tripped him.
The loud thudding of feet on the steps came to her ears, then her own name being called by the familiar red head. Her head snapped up to glare at him, but Chad spoke first. "I knew you looked familiar! Reeeally familiar with that short hair cut. You're the one Mr. Johnson's looking for!" His eyes were wide and jaw dropped. "Fuck! There's a huge-ass reward with my name allllll over it!"
Yuffie sighed and pulled out her throwing stars, having left her Conformer in the room. "Not me, Chaddy." Her stars were flung, but the pimp avoided them without a scratch. Muttering a curse, she reached for another and flung it quickly, catching Chad off-guard, but he still avoided it without a scratch. Was she losing her touch?
Reno watched, debating on helping the female Turk. "Yuf-"
"Stay outta this."
He nodded. It was her fight, not his... But if she needed back-up, he would take over. Whether she liked it or not. His gun remained at his side, his EMR still where it had been since he'd put his clothes on, but his hands were ready for anything.
Chad smirked evilly and stood behind Drake, the switch blade at the blind man's throat. "C'mon, hun! Make another move, I dare ya!" The ninja faltered in her steps forward, no more than ten paces away from the two men in the middle of the room. Her heart thudded, throat went dry, and blood ran cold.
Drake kept his eyes open, the eerie blue staring straight ahead. "Yuffie, remember what I said? Two years ago when you left?"
Yuffie swallowed hard. "Y-Yeah.."
"Are you still keeping that promise?"
The female Turk's breath caught. "Dra- Ogden! Please!" She shook her head furiously, willing these emotions, this dread, away from her.
Reno watched the young woman, it was the first time he'd seen her show emotion since Gongaga. True emotion, that is. Her eyes were full of tears and she seemed on the verge of crying. As she shook her head, realization hit him like a brick wall at 50 MPH. Yuffie and this blind man...
"What name were you going to call him?" Chad snapped. Reno was jolted from his musings and stared at the scene unfolding before his MAKO turquoise eyes.
"What the fuck does it matter to you?" The ninja Turk snapped back.
Chad chuckled. "Drake, wasn't it?" A flash of terror spread across both Drake and Yuffie's faces. "Drakonstic Demetrian Demonzil from Midgar, right? The other person that Johnson's been looking for." Reno tried to think if he knew that name, but couldn't place it. Must be a gang thing, he decided. A cold laugh echoed through the air and the red head slipped into the shadows quickly.
The ninja Turk turned to where Reno had been, he wasn't there. Instead, there was a short pudgy man in a black suit with a crimson tye. The ninja's eyes flickered to the shadows, Reno smirked out at her. Letting out a breath that she had not realized she'd been holding, Yuffie turned toward the man whose name she knew all too well.
"Johnson," she growled un-lady-like.
"M-M-Mister J-J-Johnson!" A shot was fired. Drake cried out in pain and Chad's switchblade fell from nerveless fingers. "N-N-Nice sh-shot, s-s-sir!"
Johnson glared at the pimp. "I missed. I meant to hit you, but hit Drake instead."
A low growl escaped Yuffie's mouth. "You God damned mother fucker!" She lunged at Chad, who didn't have time to react. A dagger through his heart was all that it took to send the man to his knees. She left him to bleed to death, not caring about the mess that she might make any longer. Her grey-blue eyes turned back to the shorter man.
BANG! The female Turk cringed at the pain in her upper thigh, the shot causing her to collapse. "And you!" Her eyes flickered with more-than-slight madness She stood slowly, adrenaline taking control and blocking out what should have been searing pain in her lower right leg.
"It's your fucking fault I had to leave in the first fucking place!" She limped forward a step, leaving no less than five paces between her and the gang leader that was, obviously, well-to-do.
Johnson smirked. "Whatcha gonna do about it, babe?" Another shot, but this time from another gun. Johnson fell forward and Reno stood behind him, gun in hand. The young woman looked at her comrade with softer eyes, though she quickly changed her expression of grattitude to that of irritation.
Reno nodded to her. "You okay?"
The ninja didn't hear him, or pretended that she hadn't, and went to Drake, who was laying on the floor. His breathing came in shallow breaths and her heart started pounding nearly painfully against her rib cage as she started to panic.
"Drake, c'mon, you can pull through this!" She held his head in her lap, stroking his silky raven locks.
His pupil-less eyes were fixed on the ceiling. His right hand came up and touched her cheek, then brushed her short hair out of her face. "J-Just... remember my... My promise."
"Drake! C'mon! Please!" Her eyes pleaded with him to not give up, her hand squeezed his for support, but everything seemed to be tumbling down around them.
He slowly closed his crystalline eyes. "They won.. They beat me... Don't let them beat you too." A sad smile slowly crossed his face. She watched as he swallowed, then gasped for air again. "Remember our song?"
"Drake-" He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead to silence her, then let his head rest on her warm lap once again. Reno watched this in silence, not trusting himself to speak.
Did no one hear the shots? Or is that keep so used to shots being fired that he won't question it? He ran upstairs and looked upon the dead body of the inn keeper, and slowly shook his head. A couple years back, he would've been like that Johnson creep... But not so much anymore.
Yuffie watched her male friend as his life slowly seeped out through a stomach wound. His perfect baritone voice swam through the air as if it were a fish in the water. "Oceans apart..... Day after day.. and I slowly go insane.."
Yuffie felt a tear slide down her cheek and his hand fell from her face. "I hear your voice..." Her own voice cracked and was horribly out of tune, but she didn't care. "On the line... But it doesn't stop the pain... If I see you next to never... How can we say forever?"
"Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you."
Drake's chest became still. Reno watched the ninja lay her head on the man's chest and cry, sobs wracking her petite frame, from the bottom of the steps. In her fist was the golden class ring that she wore on a silver necklace. He wanted to go over to her and take her in his arms. To kiss away her tears. To make her happy again.
Swallowing hard, he worked up the courage and took a few hesitant steps toward her. Her head rose from the man's chest as she wiped away her tears, though the red stain on her cheeks would go away as easily as the blood stains on her navy blue pants.
"Est Sularas Oth Mithas, Drake."
Reno laid a hand on her shoulder and she looked up. Grey met green. Normally emotionless, each was full of sadness and, in Reno's case, pity. She stroked the man's hair once again before slowly resting it on the concrete.
"Come on, kiddo. Vincent's funeral isn't too long away, now."
She nodded and slowly stood, favoring her right leg due to the shot that she took. They started back upstairs, but she glanced back at Drake's body. "Est Sularas Oth Mithas."
Reno spared a glance at her. "What's that mean?"
She looked at him, her face emotionless once again. "My Honor is My Life. It's from a book, but it was the way that we promised each other things." No matter what things that we promised each other...
YK2: So, I hope that you liked this chapter. There's one.. Maybe two more after this one, so... Yeah.. Please review! Uhm, labrat-Seph, I think that I'll take a... er... Which one don't I have? --thinks--
Surka: You only have one decapitated Aeris!
Dracon: You only have one Nanaki.
YK2: Yeah! I want a Red XIII, if you will! Thanks for reviewing, guys! Your reviews keep me going! Till Next Time! Audi!!!
-Yuffie Kisaragi2, Surka Sokyu, & Dracon Fira-