Chapter 3
By Crystal Snowflakes
Author's Notes: Once again, sorry for the late update was down on Sunday, so I was forced to get it up today, but either way, I'm sorry for the inconvenience and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimers: Final Fantasy 7 does not belong to me... And neither does Reno
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Yuffie looked at everyone at the conference room in the Highwind. Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Barret and Red...
"All right." Cloud said, "I'm glad we're all back together, but I am not glad of the circumstances we're meeting under. Cid tells us that we're going to arrive in around half an hour and when that happens, we are going straight to the Shinra Headquarters." He looked around, "I guess everyone would like to know how this started. A few hours ago, Reeve's secretary called and had only said he was abducted. I don't know much more than that, which is why we're going to go to Reeve's office to see what happened. We'll see what we can do from then on, but other than that, we're done here."
"Could it be his enemies of some sort? I mean, he is President now..." Yuffie muttered to herself.
To her surprise, everyone had been paying attention to her. She flushed. "Wha-at?" She asked.
"Nothing." Cloud replied, but his eyes showed amusement.
Yuffie rolled her eyes as everyone left.
"So Yuffie," Tifa said, "How have you been? I haven't seen you in such a long time, and my, you've grown up so well..."
Yuffie gave a smile, "Thanks! You're really the first one to say that."
Tifa raised her eyebrow, "You mean no boy has told you that you were attractive?"
"No! Of course not. I'm really not interested in guys right now..." She stuttered. "And plus, there was nobody that fit what I really wanted..." Like a certain redheaded Turk... Shut up.
Tifa chuckle with delight, "So you do have your eyes on someone! I was half afraid. I mean, you are twenty, not that you're old, but you aren't getting any younger... But now that you have someone... I'm glad."
Yuffie flushed. Not if you know who it was I've been thinking about all this time... "Can we please get off this topic of discussion? It is really getting me uncomfortable... I..."
"All right, all right. Either way, we're arriving Midgar. Get yourself ready." Tifa hugged her again, "It was good to see you again. We missed you."
As the Highwind approached Midgar, all the six of them stood out on the outside of the airship, looking down at the city that, a little more than a year ago, was nothing but a pile ruins and rubble.
Without the plate, the place had already looked more magnificent than it ever had, and then the houses and the little stores seemed so much cleaner and nicer, the outer gates of Midgar had been removed. It was clear that it was still in the process of enhancing the city... Yuffie had to give Reeve a round of applause. It was so much more improved than it had once been and she could see so much more potential in the city.
Once they left the airship, they walked in a quickened pace towards the Shinra headquarters. Yuffie looked in awe at her surroundings, noting how different it was before and after the Meteor. And then they arrived at the Shinra headquarters. It wasn't as beautiful as it had once been, but it was decent. They needed absolutely no keycards to go to the upper floors. The second they had stepped onto the building, one of the workers recognized them and assisted them into going up to Reeve's office.
The second they had stepped in, a cold wind surrounded them and Yuffie looked around, wondering why the wind was blowing so hard. At that second, she spotted a familiar redhead, and that made her gasp softly to herself as she felt her eyes widen in surprise.
Reno...
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Reno studied the window carefully. A puddle of small shards of glass had been gathered beneath the broken window. He grabbed a piece and inspected it. Ten millimeter bulletproof glass. He narrowed his eyes as he looked below the building, wondering where a rifle could be set on the rooftop to shoot it. As his eyes found a building of about twenty stories high, he knew he had found it. Finally, he looked around to find a bullet and smirked in satisfaction when he found it beneath Reeve's desk. Sniper CR bullet.
He leaned on Reeve's desk casually. Of course Reeve would be kidnapped. It would've been so easy. He was always unarmed, too trustworthy, too naïve, too incompetent... He wouldn't be able to shoot a gun for shit.
He sighed as he ran his hand in his hair. I wonder when AVALANCHE will arrive. The secretary, when it had first happened, had phoned them. And he hadn't stopped her from doing it. It wasn't that he was looking forward to working with them, but he really had no choice. Well, he was somewhat looking forward to see that ninja brat, that is, if she were to even come. He would never really admit to that though. So it stuck to the fact that there really wasn't anything he could've done since Reeve had obviously wanted them to come. And plus, Reeve was his boss, so he was going to have to be stuck with these idiots.
He could only hope that Elena and Rude would be done their interrogations before AVALANCHE showed up. His hands fiddled with the bullet as his mind drifted to the events that passed so long ago. Then a realization came, she never phoned me. His mouth twitched upwards slowly as his mind drifted to the bratty ninja that had caught his attention. And then his thoughts ended. He heard footsteps.
And then the office door opened. A barely audible gasp was heard and he turned around slowly, about to greet AVALANCHE when his eyes caught hers.
People change, and it doesn't take them long. A year can change someone drastically, and that was exactly what Reno thought when his eyes laid on the skinny, flat, ninja... only she really was no longer flat. Her bosom had filled noticeably and she had the right curves, as far as he could tell... And her legs still looked beautiful and slim. Needless to say, he was immediately taken aback by her looks. His throat had gone dry and he cleared his throat silently. And then he felt a sense of pleasure when she looked shocked.
"What are you doing here Reno?" Cloud asked warily.
He gave a smirk, "as you well know Strife, I work for Reeve. He was kidnapped, so what do the Turks do? They look around to see what happened, and then they kill."
"What did you find?" Cloud asked again. He, by no means, was on friendly terms with any of the Turks, but Cloud was not stupid, as much as what everyone thought. He knew that the Turks were professional killers and that they had immense information that they would never, in a million years, be able to find.
When the rest of AVALANCHE saw their leader talking to the Turk, all their thoughts of cursing had been put aside... For the moment.
"No one suspicious at the moment, but someone, either someone Reeve knows very well, was having a meeting with or someone that had sneaked in came into the room. Although of course, I'd settle for the former two guess because it doesn't seem like there was any sign of struggle. A sniper outside the Shinra, Inc. Headquarters shoots a bullet through a ten millimeter window, partially shatters it, and the kidnapper holds Reeve down, breaks the window by kicking it, then they jump into a helicopter." He tossed the bullet at Cloud, "Take a look at it yourself."
Cid spoke up, "How the hell do we know we can trust a Turk?"
"You don't." Reno stated. "You just do."
At that moment, both Rude and Elena came into the office. "The secretary said someone with the name Mathew Silverstein asked for a talk with Reeve. Nobody knows if he is a suspect. There is no background information found on him... I believe it's a fake name." Elena said, nodding her head in greeting to AVALANCHE. "Security cameras show nothing unusual although some people on the upper floors said they heard something strange like a helicopter flying. No sounds of any guns or weapons used in the building. Nothing strange passing through the metal detectors."
"Metal detectors?" Tifa asked, "Nothing beeped when we came in."
"They're silent metal detectors. Nobody knows they're there unless you're an employee. We knew AVALANCHE was coming, so they ignored it when a big group got here."
Yuffie frowned, "Could it have been a staff that helped along?"
Elena shook her head, "Other than Mathew Silverstein, nobody has gone into the office other than the secretary."
Yuffie pondered the information, then spoke up, "Reeve probably didn't even carry a weapon. I mean, Reeve really doesn't know any defense and he doesn't know how to shoot a gun. What threat could he be? He probably wasn't even thinking of struggling with him. For all we know, Reeve probably inhaled some anesthetic that puts him to sleep... Then they dragged him into the helicopter. It could be the secretary..." She shook her head to herself, then looked up.
Both Cid and Barret looked at her strangely. "What?" She snapped.
Reno looked at her, his amusement apparent. "We don't have any clues as to why Reeve was kidnapped. So until further notice, there really isn't anything we can do here. So if I were you AVALANCHE, I'd get a good sleep." He gave them his trademark smirk and approached them to quit the office.
"Where are you gonna go, Turk?" Barret asked, mistrust laced into his words.
"Check out the rooftop where the sniper would've been." Reno replied, "Elena, Rude, double check to ensure that all information is accurate."
"We don' trust you at all Turk." Barret replied. "Best if you bring one of us with you."
Reno raised his eyebrow in amusement, "If any one of you wants to trail behind Reno of the Turks, you're welcomed to. Nobody is stopping you." He looked around, seeing none of them, "There, now that's sett--"
"I'll go." Yuffie said quietly.
Tifa interrupted, "No, I don't think that's such a--"
"I'll go. I really don't mind. And plus, this is for Reeve." Yuffie said. "Anyways Reno, let's get going."
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Before they left the building, Reno had gone into a room and left the room with a big black bag at what Yuffie had presumed was a sniper rifle of some sort.
"So how've you been doing?" Reno asked, curious. "And on top of that, what have you been doing?"
"I'm all right. Been sort of busy." She replied, "Just been at Wutai, helping rebuild the town, doing this and that. Nothing much. How about you?"
"Rebuilding Midgar, helping Reeve out. Of course, he pays me." Reno gave her a wink, "But been doing bad. Heartbroken."
Yuffie raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Right."
Reno chuckled, "You never phoned me after I gave you my phone number."
Yuffie smiled, "Heartbroken then? I don't believe you... But to tell you the truth, I was curious as to whether or not you survived the Meteor occurrence... And I did consider calling you more than enough times." She continued on, "There were times when I would hold on the phone for a while and ponder whether or not I should call."
He stopped in his steps. "Why sugar, I never thought you cared that much!" He said dramatically. She had actually thought about me?
"I don't. Just curiosity." She replied. "But now that I know your Turkey ass is still alive, I don't know whether to knock my head on the wall a couple of times or just sigh in relief..."
The rest of the walk passed in comfortable silence and Reno was glad that it was Yuffie that had gone along with him and not any other members of AVALANCHE. "Here." Reno told Yuffie. With practiced proficiency, he set the rifle up in just a few seconds, then laid down on the floor as he looked up at the building. "Perfect." He muttered.
Yuffie knelt down beside him.
Reno tossed her his phone. "Babe, do me a favor and call Elena. Tell her to stand in Reeve's office, far from the window. After I take a shot, tell her to try and break the glass."
"I don't know her number..." She said, embarrassed. After he gave her Elena's number, she did as she was told. Then she looked at the Headquarters, "Do you think it'll even hit? I mean, you're looking upwards, and there is something called gravity..."
"The bullets can travel over a mile even if it's shot upwards babe."
Yuffie flushed, "Stop calling me that!"
"No." He said. "Now..." He looked in his scope, ready to aim, "By the way, you are welcomed to cover your ears. It might be a little loud."
Yuffie blinked, then took his advice and covered her ears lightly. A shot rang.
Reno continued looking through his scope. "Bingo." He muttered. The phone in Yuffie's hand started to ring and she handed it to Reno. "Yeah, I saw. We'll be back as soon as we can. If you're done, you're off for the night. All right, bye 'Lena." He hung up and looked at Yuffie, "Now, we figure out if there's any suspicious people from around here, although I doubt that there is. The kidnappers seemed to know what they were doing."
For an hour or two, the two of them of them went their separate ways to ask if there was anyone that thought there would be anyone suspicious.
When Yuffie had finished asking everyone that she could without any new information, she groaned. "Forgot to bring a frigging phone. Now how the hell am I suppose to know where he is?" Sighing, she checked the lobby, then she began going up every floor with the elevator, hoping Reno didn't use the other elevator to go down. When she had checked all the floors, she was very, very annoyed. And then she remembered, the rooftop. When she kicked open the rooftop door, she was greeted by Reno, who was leaning on the right side of the doorway.
"Very nice plan, going up every floor--"
Yuffie glowered at him, "You knew?! And you still let me do it!" She seethed, "What is your problem?!"
"It was very, very, extremely amusing."
Yuffie didn't reply, but decided to glare at him.
"All right babe. I really didn't mean to, but it was highly entertaining." He grinned, "How bout this sugar? I'll treat you for dinner. Just you. Special dinner."
She continued to glare, but then started smiling. "Fine. Dinner. But I have to go back to the inn. I really don't think I look decent enough right now, not that I care, but since you said special dinner. I assume you're bringing me to some fancy restaurant."
Reno chuckled, "Anything you want babe. But you look good enough." He added, "Except for that..." He reached out to tuck some hair that was falling in front of her face.
Yuffie blinked in confusion and felt her face heat up.
He grinned, "Come on, let's go." Without anything else, Reno heaved his sniper rifle on his shoulder, then grabbed Yuffie by the hand.
That, apparently, had done nothing to stop Yuffie from blushing even more.
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The interior was lit with dim lights, a romantic atmosphere, Yuffie would have to say. It wasn't too fancy, she noticed, but it was fine with her, considering she wasn't wearing the nicest things in the world, and plus, she didn't want to act all elegant. She liked this restaurant. It wasn't too fancy, and it wasn't too cheap.
As they sat down, her hands found the menu and began reading it. Her eyes were growing wider and wider by the second. This place was positively expensive! She looked up at Reno and found his amused glance. "You are aware of the price, right Reno?"
"Yeah, I said you could have whatever you wanted. I know it's not too fancy..." He looked around, "But I'll be sure to bring you to a fancier place next time you're up to it."
"No! This is great, I love this place..." She gave a smile. "But... next time?" Yuffie asked, raising her eyebrow, "Since when did I say I would go out with you a second time?"
Reno shrugged, "Never. But I'm sure you'd die to go out with me once you fell for me." He gave a wink, then added. "Babe."
Yuffie rolled her eyes, "You don't stop, do you."
"No." He gave a charming grin.
Yuffie had to smile at that. "You're queer."
He chuckled, "Why thank you." Then he began looking at the wine list, and he looked up, "Red wine?"
"Uh..." Yuffie cleared her throat, "No, I'm all right."
"You sure?" He grinned, "Come on. Just a little. Plus, you've gotta learn how to drink sooner or later. Why not now?"
Yuffie rolled her eyes, "I don't trust you."
"That hurt." He held his heart.
She sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "You're really, really queer Reno."
Both Yuffie and Reno, after a few long minutes, had decided that they both wanted steaks. For appetizer, the two of them ordered some soup, then, "And a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon 2000"
Yuffie looked up in alarm, "Just one--"
"Two cups." Reno said, and smiled charmingly to the waitress. She blushed and left with the orders, almost tripping on her feet on the way.
Yuffie, on the other hand, raised her eyebrow, "Do you really need to charm every woman you see, I mean, it really is kind of frustrating when a man takes you out to dinner, then flirts with some woman..."
"Jealous?" He chuckled.
"No." Yuffied quickly replied, almost too quickly. "It's just that when you take someone out to dinner, and let me remind you, you came up with the idea. You do not flirt with someone. You pay full attention to your date."
He smirked, "Date?"
She glowed red, "You know what I mean Reno..."
A bigger smirk cross his face, this one more evil than before, "So... I have to pay full attention to you. Fine with me..." His eyes twinkled mischievously, "So who was your first kiss?"
Her eyes opened in shock and she felt her own face go five shades redder, "I... Wha-at? Pardon me?" She asked.
"So who was your first kiss?"
"I... I don't think I need to answer that question. Don't you think it's a little too personal?"
"No. So who was it?" Reno asked.
Under her breath, she mumbled something.
"What?" He asked.
She glared at him, "No one!"
Reno sat there for a second before he started chuckling, "You can't be serious. How old are you now? Nineteen? Twenty? So who was it?"
Yuffie's temper flared, "Well, I'm sorry I haven't had my first kiss. Unlike somebody I know, I'm not a complete whore. When I was younger, all I ever wanted was Materia, and when I started being interested in guys, I had to like someone out of reach... So here I am... Eighteen and still haven't had my first kiss yet." She flushed.
He was astonished. Eighteen only? He almost choked. So that makes him seven years older than her. And that also makes him a bloody pedophile. But... He thought to himself, she doesn't seem like she's eighteen at all. I had no idea she was sixteen or seventeen when she joined AVALANCHE... wow. His mind brought him back to the conversation, "Out of reach, you say?" He asked. So the brat does like someone... "You know babe... I wasn't really that out of reach. I gave you my number!"
She almost went red in the face again, "I never said it was you... You stupid conceited Turk."
Dinner flew by quite quickly. They talked, insulted one another, and Yuffie got to learn quite a few things about Reno... One, he was an absolute bastard. Two, he's too self-centered for his own good. Three, it was...kind of amusing to talk to him. Especially arguing. To most onlookers, they might seem like they were in conflict, but the two of them were, in reality, having a good time.
What more could Yuffie have wanted? Free food, free dinner... free drinks... and getting drunk just a tiny wee bit. And someone she could actually talk to. Not someone like Cid, or Cloud, or Barret, or like... Tifa. Cid was someone you insult without humor, Cloud and Barret were people you avoided talking to, Tifa... Tifa was someone to talk about serious things with... Something like girl talk...
Dinner had flew by, and after they had finished the wine, Yuffie was feeling slightly dizzy. Reno paid the bill and it was then he realized that Yuffie was actually having trouble walking. He helped her up from her chair and started out the door.
"So where am I dropping you off babe?"
She put a hand to her forehead, "Inn... Remind me to never drink again. I can't even walk properly."
Reno looked at the woman in his arms, "Who knew you couldn't even drink a cup of red wine without getting drunk? So where is the inn?"
Yuffie tried to hit him, but missed horribly, "Hell if I know."
"Fuck." Reno cussed. They had no idea where the hell her friends were stay... So what could they do? Reno decided to drop her off at his house and let her sleep on the couch for the night, and then they'd go to the headquarters the next morning and get AVALANCHE to ask them where they were staying.
When he arrived at the front of his house with great difficulty, Yuffie was already more than half asleep. Reno had had to practically drag her back to his house.
He struggled with his pant pocket for a few moments before he pulled out his keys. Then, he proceeded to shake Yuffie awake.
"Wha...?" She asked groggily.
"We're here." Reno said.
She blinked tiredly, "oh." Then, she opened the door as she almost tripped, and turned around. "Thanks for walking me home Reno. Really appreciated it."
Reno raised his eyebrow, all the while wondering what the hell she was talking about.
"Really, thank you." Yuffie asked. When Reno didn't stop it with her queer looks, she rolled her eyes, "You're queer." She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek that was too close to the mouth for Reno's comfort. "Is that what you wanted?" She yawned, "Good night Reno!" She then slammed the door in the face of an astounded Turk.
When the shock wore off, Reno sighed as he tried to turn the knob; he then realized she had locked it. Sighing again, he unlocked the door again. She is so fucking wasted. He thought, and then carried on to his room.
Only to see a certain Wutain ninja on the bed, wrapped in his covers...
Again, he sighed softly, all the while studying the ninja. She is kind of adorable. Removing his navy jacket, he sat down on his bed and lay down on the side of the bed that wasn't already taken.
For the rest of the night, he gazed quietly at the matured woman.
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Author's Notes: Hope you guys enjoyed it. More Reno/Yuffie soon to come! Oh, and drools... Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children coming out soon! I can't wait... Reno's in there too... He looks so sexy! Either way, yeah. I'm going to continue looking at the new ff7:ac background of Reno now. See ya next week!
-Crystal Snowflakes
