The Devil Inside
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. The characters and places belong to Square-Enix. I'm not making any money out of this so don't bother suing.
Italics - Thoughts, sounds…
Chapter two
A cold wetness brought her from the swirling black of her dreams. She brought a hand to her forehead, trying to calm the pulsating migraine that throbbed within her head. Realising she was laying on hard floor the young girl rolled to her back and tried to open her eyes.
"Kuso!" she groaned.
Yuffie wiped the drool from her chin and looked around her.
She was inside a small cell. The walls were bare grey concrete. A barred window graced the wall beside her, high above her head. On the opposite wall a solid metal door stood between the ninja and her freedom. Her left leg was tangled on a white, smelly blanket so he realised she must have fallen from the cot beside her, though further inspection told her it wasn't much softer than the ground.
She had been stripped down of her clothes and armour, and now wore a traditional Wutaiese kimono. Except it was completely white.
A sea breeze descended from the window, along with the sound of furious waves. Only then she realised that the room temperature was a little above freezing. Grabbing the blanket from ground she sat on the cot.
Taking deep breaths and concentrating, Yuffie felt her migraine was receding and her mind becoming one with her new environment.
Not many people could tell just by looking at her, but Yuffie had a control over her mind the surpassed even that of high-skilled ninjas. Shutting of her other senses, the young ninja concentrated all her power on her hearing.
Wind blowing against the building.
Tap.
Waves crashing down below.
Tap, tap.
Thunder roaring high in the sky.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps. Someone favouring one leg.
A grin came to her face despite the situation.
It's the bastard alright.
The door opened and a silver haired man came into the room. He was covered by a white trench coat that was soaked in water. His hair reached his waist, but was strangely dry.
"Miss Yuffie Kisaragi. Hajimemashite," the man greeted with a small bow.
Yuffie didn't bother openeing her eyes.
"Were you always a bastard or is it just the Jenova in you?"
"Dammit Reno, I told you he couldn't be Valentine. We saw him here!" Elena was trying to figure out if it ripping out Reno's hair and strangling him with it was a good idea.
"Well, I saw him too. Come on, how many guys are out there that have a claw on their left hand?" Reno replied.
After his encounter with the hooded stranger, they all came back to Yuffie's apartment. Barrett and Nanaki were still on their way to the apartment.
"You mean you didn't even see his face!" Elena was crawling up the walls.
"Well, no. But I did recognize his voice from somewhere… I think…".
Reno was sitting on Yuffie's couch, his feet propped on the coffee table. The apartment was surprisingly clean, since it was Yuffie's after all. They were all in the living room, waiting for their comrades. It was scarcely furnished, having only a couch, a chair, the coffee table and a large bookshelf. Not even a television. The bookshelf was stacked with books about materia, everything from its origins, uses, forms and growth. The walls were bare, without a single painting. A door led to the kitchen, pristine white with lime green cupboards. A wooden table with an empty fruit-basket rested on the middle, with four chairs. A quick inspection to the fridge revealed the only clue that Yuffie did live on that flat. It was completely packed with days-old junk food, varying from pizza, burgers and takeout Chinese and Indian. The bathroom was small, with a small tub and a small cabinet. The two bedrooms were also tidy. One had a king sized bed, with a large wardrobe, a nightstand and a chest of drawers. A TV rested on top of it. The other room had two single beds, a small wardrobe and two nightstands. Tifa was currently inspecting the rooms.
"Hey guys, come here!" she called.
Rude and Elena entered the room. Tifa stood in front of the small wardrobe.
"The other room is Yuffie's. It's full of her clothes. This one… well, just look."
She opened the wardrobe. It was full of men's clothes.
"Whoa, seems like your little Miss Ninja Princess of The House of Thievery was having some fun," Elena grinned.
Tifa shot her a dark look.
"Come on, let's wait till Nanaki arrives. He should be able to tell us more about this."
When they reached the living room, Cid was trying to pull something from the doorframe using his Venus Gospel, while Reno was peeking over his shoulder. He managed to pull the object from the doorframe without adding further damage. He couldn't however, avoid hitting Reno on the nose with the flat of his blade.
Reno jumped back grabbing his bleeding nose with both of his hands and hit the bookshelf that began to tilt. Rude and Tifa caught it on midair, preventing it from hitting Elena. All of the books fell on top of her, and as she was about to shoot both of Reno's eyes, something caught her attention. A single book stood on the almost horizontal bookshelf.
Jim was sitting on his small Materia shop, moving the antenna of his small TV, which he kept hidden under the counter.
"Damn weather! Like the business isn't bad enough without the sky falling on our heads," he grumbled.
His store was wedged between two large and decrepit apartment buildings, and was in no better conditions. Well, it was fairly good for the rent he paid for it.
The jingle of the little bell above the door caught his attention. Shivering from the cold outside, the back an oversized dark man came into view. He took of his coat and turned around, coat hanging on his right hand.
"Hi," the stranger greeted.
A shudder ran through Jim's spine, as if he knew the man was bad news. He had a feeling this man was not to be disturbed.
As the man walked to the counter, a flash of red appeared before him.
A cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing walked casually through the small space and began sniffing the floor, leaving wet puddles everywhere.
"Excuse me but have you seen this girl recently?" the man slipped a photo towards him.
Oh, fuck!
He knew she would be trouble the moment he had set eyes on her materia. He just knew. But they were so… perfect. Three mastered elemental materia were too much for his consciousness to handle.
A look of apprehension flashed through his face, but it did not go unnoticed.
The dark man leaned forward over the counter and shot him a darker look.
"Never seen her before," he answered.
"Oh really? Why don't you take another look?" he growled.
He looked at the picture again.
"Nop," he said, hoping to sound casual.
He almost thought the man had believe him but then, the cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing came to his side of the counter, piercing him with an one-eyed yellow stare.
"I'm terribly sorry, but my nose begs to differ," it spoke. "From the intensity of her scent on those Mastered materia, I would say she was here probably seven, eight days ago. Unless they were stolen…"
Jim started at the deep growl and stared in awe at the animal.
"It spoke! He… I… but it… and…"
"I'm going to ask again," the man said. "Have you seen her?"
Jim looked at the cat/ dog/ lion/ tiger thing and swallowed hard.
"Uhh yes… she was here about eight days ago and sold me some high level materia. She didn't stay long though, said she had to be somewhere…" he trailed off.
"Where was she going?" The beast asked.
"I d…don't remember.."
The man then took his coat and put it on the counter. Attached to his right arm was a…
Is that a freaking gun-arm!
"Think harder."
"She was going to catch a boat to Mideel. Said she had to go quickly. She only had a few minutes." He said quickly. "It was about six o'clock." He added, anticipating the following question.
The beast grinned at him (It grins!) and they left without another word.
That's it. I'm going home…
"What the…"
Barrett and Nanaki had just arrived on Yuffie's apartment and wondered if they were on the right place.
Cid was leaning against casually the wall, Venus Gospel in one hand, and a small metallic object on the other. His ever present cigar was dangling from his lips. He was studying the object attentively, and detached from his surroundings.
Reno had one hand on a purpling eye, while the other was balled in a fist, gesturing towards Cid and cursing in several languages. His collar was being held by Elena, who was, apparently trying to suffocate him.
Rude was holding Elena on his arms, preventing her from asphyxiating Reno, while his back supported a falling bookshelf. Tifa was holding the bookshelf as well, trying to put her bodyweight to use.
After everyone had calmed down, they all sat on the living room to discuss their situation.
"So, if I understood it right, you were both attacked by Vincent, at exactly the same hour, at two different places." Barrett tried to sum it up as best as he could, to avoid a new confrontation.
"Except, ours was the real Vincent." Cid spoke. "Theirs was someone else."
Reno was quick to oppose.
"And how do you know that, Oh Exhaust Pipe?"
"Because Carrot-top, this is a bullet from Vincent's gun. He makes them himself. And you didn't see his face. We saw him." Cid threw the bullet on the table.
"But I did recognize his voice from somewhere…" Reno trailed off.
Nanaki walked into the room, as he was the only one missing.
"I've been to the rooms. The clothes are definitely Vincent's. But…" he hesitated and looked at Tifa.
A shudder ran down her spine.
"What?"
"They have also Cloud's scent on them."
AN: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter (yes, all three of you :D ). Also, forgive me for the late update. I'm on my first year of Uni and the workload just caught up with me suddenly. Exams are here, but in approximately one month, I will have an internet connection at home! So with summer vacations and internet at home, this will definitely pick up soon. Please review!
Mail me ffomni(at)hotmail(dot)com
FFomni