22

Wutai: Becoming Geisha

Reno and I screamed at once, fingers pointing and shaking our heads.

"You!"

"God damn it," Reno grumbled, and he slammed a fist on the bar to rattle his empty glasses.

"Of allz placez," he slurred.

Cloud cut in between me and Reno, his fingers twitching to grab his sword.

"What are you doing here, Reno?"

The red-haired Turk lifted his finger, ready to share, but then he paused, losing his thoughts. Suddenly, he slapped his head back on the bar, knocking his glasses down until melted ice spilled on his hands. A few onlookers giggled, some whispering about a man enjoying himself too much.

I blinked, uncertain what to do, turning to Cloud for clarity. He gave me the same look and just shrugged.

"These are delicious-Oh man, not Reno again," Reeve's thrill of margaritas quickly deflated when he gazed upon Reno plastered. Mixed with the chatter and music, I could hear him slurp noisily, still enjoying his drink even in the midst of discovering a Turk among us.

"Waitz," Reno muffled. He groaned as he lifted his head back up. A thin slice of lime clung to his pale cheek, salt and traces of tequila stuck to his lips.

"I had a thought," he tried, pointing his finger lazily at Cloud.

"You fuckin bastard," Reno struggled, barely able to keep his head up.

Cloud narrowed his eyes, seeming irritated.

"Let's get out of here. This place reeks all of a sudden," he grunted.

"Wait. You not after me, then?" Reno whimpered. He slumped the side of his head on the table again, sighing. He asked the bartender for another drink.

I shook my head at Reno's question.

"No. We didn't know you were even here. I thought you died in Junon," I clarified.

Reno hid his bloodshot eyes behind a hand, and groaned as though in a lot of pain.

"Junon. It'z becuz of you guyz, I waz let goez after that. So," He slapped his hand on the table, water, and tequila splattering.

"Here Iz am."

Reeve cringed.

"And you're doing a fine job hitting rock bottom," he joked.

Reno peeled the slice of lime off his face and threw it at Reeve. It stuck to his coat like jelly.

"Thankz to youz."

"You're welcome," Cloud flashed a quick smirk, pleased with the display, and yet, had enough. I felt him tug my hand with a whisper, "Let's get out of here."

"Ah, but the drinks!" Reeve whined, left behind to slurp his margarita as quick as possible.

It was another world, stepping out of the bar, back to the cold reality of dreary and crowded streets of an oriental city. I shivered, zipping my coat back up and hid under its hood.

"Well, that went well," I joked.

Cloud sighed as he gazed out at the streets, blowing out his annoyance into white fog.

"That was spectacular. I want to go there again," Reeve cheered, walking until he almost tripped. The snow grew heavier, coming in as fat flakes and taking to the streets with a thicker white layer. Reeve grabbed my arm when he almost fell forward, his loafers not suitable for snow and stone flooring.

Luckily, I stayed solid, helping him steady himself until he straightened on his own. He chuckled uneasily and smiled at me.

"Next bar?"

—

We crossed an arched bridge, a small river gushing murky water under us. Shinra jeeps puttered on by, mixed with the murmurs of people passing through. There was enough snow to cover footprints until someone else stepped in the same spot, the snow endeavoring to cover it until it became a back and forth battle.

Crossing the bridge, I got lost in the beauty of the tallest pagoda probably a mile away, a mighty red tower at the center of town. It must've been at least seven stories, with a tall, pointed satellite tower blinking in red against the white mountain landscape. I watched it blink for a while until I was interrupted, feeling a hand jolt me awake, and I gaped at Cloud glaring ahead, his lips pressed together.

One margarita and no food, Reeve was already a bit influenced because he easily waddled pass Cloud without caution and chuckled, "Hey, isn't that Rude and Elena?"

I squinted at the petite blond girl, her short hair under a white wool hat and wearing a long, white snow coat over her navy suit. Her honey colored eyes blinked, spotting us, and then they squinted with distaste.

"It's you guys," she squawked, pointing at us.

"Elena," Rude pressed, wearing the same white coat as her. "We aren't here for them," he warned, standing next to her.

"Great," Cloud groaned.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked. We had a stare down along the arched bridge, snow falling between us as passers minded their own business.

Elena clenched her teeth.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she growled, blond eyebrows narrowing.

"What we're here for is none of your concern," Rude rumbled quietly, still wearing his dark shades under the overcast sky.

Reeve smiled at them like they were old pals.

"You two should visit this bar, Turtle's Paradise. Reno's there," he blurted.

"Reeve!" Cloud and I snapped.

This must've been gold to Elena and Rude because their hard expressions miraculously melted.

"So, that's where he is," Elena mused, her eyes growing.

Rude stuffed his hands into his pockets with a sigh of relief, while Elena smirked.

"Find Reno and stop these guys. This could be killing two birds with one stone," she mentioned, grinning. "Who would've thought we would bump into you here, especially after you stolen the Huge Materia. You're all wanted from Shinra now….again."

As soon as Elena held out her fists for a fight, Cloud unleashed his sword and widened his stance.

"Don't make me hurt you two," he warned, Mako already sizzling along the lining of his body.

"Elena, we have a job to do. Find Reno," Rude reminded her.

Elena's eyes only hardened, her fist still up to her square face.

She scowled, "What?! But we have these guys right where we want them!"

Rude shook his bald head as he settled a hand over her arm to drop one of her fist.

"We can't defeat them now. It's pointless. I know you can be impatient, but we need to go, for now."

Elena puffed out her frustration, smacking her hands on her coat with a spat.

"Fine!"

With irritation, she swiped her loose, blond bangs away from her eyes, and spat more white fog, glaring at us.

"We know you're here now. Don't try to think we're done," she threw, but her threat seemed as flimsy as a piece of string.

Cloud smirked with a roll of his eyes, putting away his sword. A few passers gawked at its monstrous size, whispering what was happening on the bridge.

Rude began to jog, passing us as he hissed, "We'll see each other again."
Elena followed close behind him, grumbling as she passed Cloud, and left us to search for their fallen third member.

Reeve let out a sigh of relief, bowing his head.

"Phew. That could've been ugly."

"Yeah, for them," Cloud grunted. With a sigh, he added, "We need to find the Huge Materia, quick."

He twirled around to watch Elena and Rude vanish into the crowd, worry in his eyes. "I don't like that they're here."

"Me too," I muttered, fearful of those two calling up every Shinra reinforcement they could find to trap us and lock us up.

We walked again, exploring the city for a few hours. The sky remained gorged and grey, pouring more snow over us until it transformed the city into an orange haze, lanterns reflected off the white world to cast back up to the clouds to mock us with sunset bellies. No one seemed to mind the weather, despite how much colder it got as the day went on.

Reeve sobered up after we stopped for dumplings. I gladly ate a dozen, like eating little hot blankets filled with curries and stir-fry. Soft white buns as big as Cloud's hand caught my attention, and I may have ordered too many of those, along with fried chicken on skewers, and stacks of colorful mochi. Cloud gawked at what I carried in my arms, knowing that I got carried away with the festive oriental cuisine.

Reeve snuck a bite and stool a mochi from my collection, and I hissed at him while he gladly chewed.

"This is good," Reeve said with his mouthful, his body melting from the sticky rice and sugar.

"I hope you're going to eat all of that," Cloud nagged.

"Of course!" I chirped, beaming from a curry bun ready to go into my mouth. I took a big bite, the yellow curry almost too hot, and I blew out clouds of hot breath.

"I'm eating for two after all."

Cloud tensed, stopping in his tracks. Did he forget that I was pregnant? Or was it because...

Reeve stole one of my fried chicken skewers.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm helping her out. For two," he hailed, and took a bite of crunchy chicken. Cloud and I exchanged startled looks, thinking the same thing: I almost blew our secret in front of Reeve. And then there was questioning in Cloud's eyes, though I couldn't read them well, for he looked away and began to walk again. Whatever he thought of, he was going to tell me later.

We continued exploring the city on foot, Reeve and I shoulder to shoulder, and together we munched and shared our thoughts on the treats.

"The curry one is the best one," I declared.

Reeve lifted a thick brow. "Uh, no. The red bean one!"

"Here, try a bite of this one!" I shoved a pork bun into his mouth in the middle of his rambling, and he abruptly stopped talking to take a bite.

The more irritated Cloud was at ease dropping on our snack fun, the more he sighed as he walked ahead. By the time he sighed for the fourth time, I left Reeve to finish his pork bun, and shuffled next to Cloud to wiggle a stick of mochi near his cold, white cheek.

"Cloud, try one!" I smiled despite how irritated he appeared. I knew he just wanted to be included, but doesn't exactly say it. He crossed his arms and looked away from the ball of pink colored sticky rice ball.

"No, thanks," he grumbled, being difficult.

I puffed my cheeks.

"Pretty please?"

"Not hungry."

I clenched my teeth while my feet shuffled to keep up with Cloud, struggling to stay next to him. The pink mochi was pulled back, and I was ready to take it into my mouth.

"It's the last one, but okay. I'll eat it," I mentioned.

My hand brought it close to my lips, but before I could bite into it, Cloud's fingers took hold of the skewer and leaned it towards his face.

"Okay. I'll eat it."

He took the whole thing into his mouth and pulled it off the skewer with his teeth.

We paused in the middle of the street, giving me a chance to blink up at him chewing. His cheeks turned more and more red as I continued to marvel at his change of heart.

Cloud swallowed and turned his head away to hide his bashfulness.

"It's good," he muttered into his scarf. His sparkling blue eyes came and went, struggling to make eye contact, and I got a glimpse of a shy little boy behind a red scarf.

Reeve gasped, spoiling the fun.

"Uh, guys," his voice picked up, alarmed. Cloud and I spun to follow his pointed finger, and over there, two or so blocks away, was Yuffie's head bobbing up and down to her cheery walk, a girl with victory across her grin. From a gust of wind, her familiar, long white scarf fluttered its two long arms out behind her, and her hood fell to reveal that short black bob of hers.

The three of us gasped.

"There she is!" Cloud cried, and he ran. Reeve and I hurried to keep up with his speed, fighting through the crowd while dropping buns. Yuffie appeared to be oblivious at first, her eyes wandering along the stalls of open markets, waving at the owners hiding in their coats. But then she must have seen a blur of us in the corner of her vision. Her closed, grinning eyes snapped open, and with caution, she turned her head around, followed by her body, and finally took notice of us running after her.

Her brown eyes grew, lips parting wide when she saw us.

"Shit! Shit!" She flipped her Moogle Hood over her head and ran straight into an alleyway.

Cloud was fast, only a few paces from Yuffie. I matched with Reeve's slow pace, the both of us jogging until we lost sight of Cloud when he made a sharp turn into the alley.

"Damn, he's too fast," Reeve panted, jogging next to me.

"No kidding," I sighed, leaning into the corner of a wooden post to take a breath as Reeve went ahead. I shouldn't have eaten all of those dumplings. After sprinting, I could taste recently digested food setting out to come back up.

Reeve slipped into an ungrateful stop, and gasped.

"Hey, we can't do that!"

Cloud too focused, he made a leap up to the roof, and left us alone in a dead end of an alleyway. Reeve kicked his foot over the snow with a curse, while I sighed, wishing I could be as aerobic as Cloud.

"Well, let's hope he doesn't lose her," I chatted. At least we finally found Yuffie. Will Cloud be able to catch up to her? She probably knew the streets of her home city very well, all the hiding places within her grasp.

Reeve turned to me, determined.

"Let's see if we can pick up clues while Cloud tracks her down."

"I don't think so," a woman's voice interrupted. Reeve and I turned, and through the flurries, a local appeared, blocking our exit. Under her large, brim hat with snow sticking to it, there was a beautiful grin and long, raven hair tied in a pony-tail. A cigarette dangled between her dark red lips, white skin under an elegant black and gold samurai robe.

A katana appeared, lanterns glinting off its clean steel.

"So, you are the ones Yuffie told me about." She lifted her head, her exquisite face revealing cold, brown eyes under long eyelashes.

Reeve blushed over her beauty, despite having the samurai princess cornering us at a dead end. She blew smoke through her nostrils, waiting for our pleas.

I blurted, "How do you know about Yuffie? And where's the Huge Materia?!"

The guest sighed more smoke, a wave of fog swallowing up snowflakes, and one of her thin, dark eyebrows lifted.

"Like I will tell you," she purred.

With a speed of wind, she leaped forward, socks and wooden sandals sailing across the air. Her sword was ready to strike right for Reeve. I jumped forward, lifting a hand to summon a shield to block her jab. Reeve screamed, scurrying away.

Blocking the girl's sword pushed my feet back, causing me to slide across snow too easily until I felt the high wall at my back.

"Reeve, find the others!" I grunted. He was no use for battle, and yet, he didn't run away.

"No way! I won't leave you behind!"

Gratefully, the girl withdrew, but only to jump high into the cloudy air, a vortex of snow following her. Upon returning to earth, her sword dropped and aimed straight for my head.

Lining with green energy, I lifted my hands and threw a column of fire at her. The katana cut through the flames, distinguishing it like a spray of water. I panicked, still seeing the blade coming, and at the last second, summoned a thick block of ice to muffle the attack. The thick ice block hovered between us, and I shivered to find the katana pierce it with only inches from my face. The block of ice began to crack upon the enemy withdrawing her blade. She moved with grace, like a ballerina with a sword, and ready to strike my hip, but I lifted a column of earth to distract her attack, sword hitting stone.

The samurai scowled when she somersaulted away, losing her hat carelessly.

"A magic user. I thought you all went instinct," she uttered, her red lips wrinkled.

I glared at her, arms out and ready to cast another spell.

"I'm the last one," I thundered.

She smirked at that. "I'm honored to fight such an opponent."

Suddenly, she waved her hand, and dozens of shurikens launched from under her gold floral sleeve. I summoned a wall of ice to catch them, and went around it to blow a powerful gust of Windaga at her.

This startled her, unable to get out of the way in time, and she was caught in its range, being blown back.

The female samurai propelled backwards, spitting out of the alleyway and hurled over the street to crash into a wood stand full of oranges. Wood shattered. Oranges rolled and scattered across the snow.

"Reeve, run!" I cried, hurrying to leave the dead end before we were cornered again.

Reeve ran next to me, and we hurried onto the main street, passing startled passers.

Already, our foe was gone, nothing but hundreds of oranges rolling.

"Where did she go?!" Reeve cried, his head twisting to search for her as we ran towards the city center. We broke through a crowd of geishas with shrieks, pushing aside grumbling fat tourists and dodging Chocobo carts.

"Reeve, call Barret!" I demanded, knowing he had a phone.

"Oh yeah!" He fished it out from his pocket, ready to dial.

A katana came crashing down right in front of his face, missing his nose by a few inches. The only victim of that attack was a chunk of his fold up phone, a clean cut slice.

"What!" Reeve stopped to see the piece of phone clank in the snow, and his hand trembled, holding what was left of his precious device. I gawked at it, but quickly recoiled when I saw the metal sheet of the Katana return, aiming for his neck.

"Reeve!"

I threw my hand up high, green energy and snow swirling around me. A bolt of lightning quickly appeared, striking the Katana before it made a cut for Reeve. The bolt traveled along the metal towards the handle, the owner's hands shaking violently.

"Damn it!" Spat the samurai, her body seizing upon the electric current coursing through her. She wasn't going to give up.

I was ready to encase her in ice, but she plowed through the pain, teeth together, and thrusted her electrifying sword towards my chest. With a quick change of plan, I put up a shield to block just in time. The blow pushed me backwards, almost fumbling into a pedestrian. It was too crowded, our audience stopping to watch the show like it was another form of entertainment Wutai thought of.

The samurai withdrew, holding her katana steady with one eye over its blade, taking aimed for my neck. We circled each other, the whispering of battle spreading through Wutai.

Reeve stood and watched, uncertain what to do at this point. His only prized possession had been destroyed. No more surveillance on Shinra nor phone call to make. He was left to observe with a feeling of worthlessness.

My hands collided, and the Planet's energy slithered around my arms and through my fingers to launch a magic sword.

The samurai's eyes widened, her lipstick mouth opening.

"Unbelievable," she whispered, taking a second to admire my magic capabilities. But she quickly shifted back to her cold-fighter self, one eye blinded by her long bangs, and she darted quick as a bullet. I wasn't certain I could block her attack, unable to even follow her movement when she suddenly vanished, nothing but thin air in front of me.

I spun around, searching for her.

There was a glimpse of a katana, and I gasped, unable to catch it in time.

"Aqua!" Reeve cried, preparing for the worst.

"Chekhov, no!"

The samurai appeared from her hiding spot, her blade only a few inches from taking my jugular artery, and she froze. Snow speckled her black hair and cheeks, eyes wide before turning her head to gaze up, over the rooftops.

I followed her gaze, and spotted another Samurai, a handsome man with hair as long as my foe's, and thick, black eyebrows lifted. He contrasted against the snow easily with his black robes, two katanas sheathed at his hips. His eyes were similar to the woman's, glaring down at her with a stern expression, her lost hat clutched in his hand.

The one called Chekhov hissed up at him, her blade still ready to cut into me.

"Stani," she breathed. It seemed she hesitated to disobey him, the two glaring at each other. The one called, Stani, gave a sour expression, flurries throwing his loose hair in one direction.

When the silence between them was too much, Chekhov grunted, still holding her katana to my neck.

"They'll ruin our plan," she spat.

The male samurai sighed, closing his eyes.

"Are we different from Shinra if we kill them?" He asked.

"How dare you!" Chekhov hissed.

Three others joined the male samurai on the roof, two ninja and a lanky monk in a red robe. All four of them smirked down at Chekhov as though she was caught doing something ridiculous. She stumbled her words, astonished that her peers looked down on her with pity.

"But..."

"Sis, let's go," one of the ninja men encouraged.

"Yuffie's waiting," the other chimed in.

Chekhov lowered her sword.

"Fuck," she hissed. Her squinted eyes darted to me.

"Leave now, if you want there to be no trouble. Yuffie is back home with us. Go before I regret letting you live," she warned under her breath.

Before I could ask who they were, she jumped high in the air and landed smoothly next to her family, the five of them giving me one last glance under their noses.

Gazing at them all up there, there was a second of appreciating a perfect portrait of a family standing in a gust of snowy winds, all their expressions carrying something dark.

"This is your only warning," the tall, handsome samurai named Stani advised. He was last to leave, keeping a watchful eye on Reeve and I, as the woman, two ninjas and monk darted away.

He sighed, turning his back to his audience, and he too, disappeared into the flurries.

I was left stunned, even after the crowd was finished with the show, quick to disperse and go about their afternoon. Snow tickled my tongue, my cheeks frozen when I finally took notice, still gluing my attention to the white rooftops in case the strangers returned.

"What the..." I could barely comprehend what just happened. There was the sound of feet crunching over snow with hurry, and then Reeve's arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind. I was too stunned to even be startled by his abrupt embrace.

"Oh dear God, that was so close! Cloud would've killed me if something happened to you!"

I slipped from his arms while muttering, "I'm so glad you were so worried about yourself."

Reeve took one look at me and took note of how shaken I must've seemed. He grabbed my shoulder firmly and said, "Let's have a drink."

A few minutes later, Reeve and I huddled in a tiny bar with only five stools, its entrance simply flapping tapestry with a gust of snow against our backs and a hot kitchen in front of us.

"Two sakes please," Reeve ordered.

He drank his, while I let mine sit between my trembling hands.

"What was that all about? Who were those five?" I asked.

Reeve exhaled, cheeks red from the alcohol.

"Who knows. But they know Yuffie. They look like a family of samurai and ninjas. I wonder if they are all related?" He asked.

"Chekhov," I whispered, grasping the beautiful samurai's name. I lifted my curious eyes to the big bartender drying a sake cup.

"Hey, bartender, do you know anyone by the name of Chekhov?"

The bartender frowned, his square face covered in a long black beard.

"Who's asking?"

"We just watched a fight scene outside with her there," I answered.

The bartender squinted suspicious eyes at me.

"Hmph. More like, part of that fight scene. I hear everything that goes on in this city," he scolded, not liking that I lightly lied.

I shifted in my stool and sighed into my hands.

"I just want to know almost killed me," I pressed.

"Why? Do you have something against the Kisaragis?" He asked.

"The Kisaragis?" Reeve and I asked, blinking at him with curiosity.

The bartender averted his eyes to the other guests along the bar, noting their dodged looks and hushed lips.

"You must be new in town if you don't even know the Kisaragis," he said, and poured a cup of sake for himself.

"Well, it would take a whole history class to learn about that family tree, so I won't bother ya with the details," he began, and took a sip of his drink. He leaned his thick elbow over the bar to reel in closer, gesturing for Reeve and I to lean in.

He began to whisper close to our ears.

"The Kisaragi family are, I mean, were, the royal family of Wutai. They've ruled this nation for centuries. But since the war, they've been thrown to the wind. Goda, our old leader, keeps hidden, probably surrounding himself with women or just sleeping all day in his castle. He's got nothing to do, not with Rufus our leader now, though he's halfway across the world. What a load of shit."

"Anyway, Chekhov is one of Godo's daughters. She cleans up the streets with her swordsmanship. Shrina don't do shit around here."

An old man sitting next to me chimed in, "She's a looker, but also has a bite. Men often fall for her, only to be left in the streets with a few cuts. You must have a death wish if she's after you. Good luck sleeping tonight."

The bartender and the old man laughed.

I paled as I looked at Reeve to see if he was listening. With his face flushed of booze, he still held a serious expression, keeping as steady as he could while maintaining to sit properly in his seat. But his droopy eyes told me he'd rather nap.

The bartender poured Reeve another drink. He looked at my untouched cup and asked, "You don't like sake?"

I shook my head.

"I'm not really thirsty," I sighed uneasily.

The bartender shrugged and continued his story.

"Anyway, the six children of Godo are an interesting bunch. You got Stani, the oldest son and heir to the throne. The ladies are always after him, but he keeps a lot to himself, busy cleaning up his pa's mess. Then there's Chekhov, the eldest daughter. The twins are Shake and Gorky, and then there's Staniv, uh, I forgot what he even does. How many is that?" He had his fingers up to keep track, five of them out.

"Oh, and then the youngest of them, Yuffie."

Reeve spat his sake into a spray, startling the whole bar.

What?!"

I jolted upright in my seat.

"Yuffie?!"

Reeve and I exchanged shocked looks. Things just got way more complicated.

The bartender laughed at our expressions.

"Yeah, but she's nothin. Just a kid and always gettin into trouble. Poor girl. I hear she's back in town, demanding to see Godo, but he won't give her nor anyone the time of day, not unless you're a geisha. Ha!"

An idea just popped into my head.

"Reeve," I hushed, leaving the bartender to take an order from a customer. Reeve leaned in, and I whispered into his ear, "If Cloud fails to catch Yuffie, then I think I know a way to go and see Godo."

Reeve pulled back to give me his growing eyes.

"Yeah?"

I was about to whisper it, when a gust of cold air tickled my back, and then Cloud's voice broke through my train of thought.

"Am I interrupting?"

Reeve spun in his stool clumsily, while I jumped off mine in a rush. Despite finding Cloud standing there, fuming silently, I wrapped my arms around him with a startled breath, relieved to see him again.

"Oh thank Gods," I gasped, afraid to have lost him for days. The cold wind teased my face, the tapestries tickling Cloud's back with my hands there.

As troubled as he might've been to see me and Reeve together, he held me in return, his arms tight, and he sighed hard, resting his chin over my head.

"I'm sorry I took off like that," Cloud whispered.

"What happened?" I asked, pulling away to watch Cloud's face harden. He clenched his teeth with a curse.

"I followed Yuffie until she hid herself away inside the tallest pagoda. It's at the center of the city, and well guarded with Shinra, too," he answered dryly. He reached pass my arm to snatch my full sake cup, and took a gulp for himself.

Reeve struggled to stand, only to mutter to Cloud's face, "That must be the castle."

Cloud lifted a brow.

"Castle?"

I told Cloud all that we learned from the bartender. He didn't react the same way as Reeve and I did. His fingers rubbed his chin, listening quietly the whole time.

"Yuffie and her family must be in there, along with the Huge Materia," I finished.

Cloud thought hard for a minute. Reeve sat back on his stool to order another sake. I was tempted to cut him off.

"If she hasn't sold it. Well, then we have to find a way to get inside," Cloud demanded. He touched my cheek when he asked, "Are you sure you want to go through with this? I would rather you sit this one out."

My hand met with his and gripped hard, meeting his tender gaze.

"I'm sure. Besides..." I smiled evilly at him, something already working in my head.

"I think I know how we can get inside."

...

Cloud made an "X" with his arms up.

"No, no, no. Absolutely not. Not again. No," he confirmed, standing far behind me when I introduced him and Reeve to the front of a popular Geisha house.

Reeve's goofy smile widened.

"I don't know. I think it sounds like a great idea."

Cloud sharply turned his head to glare at Reeve and growled, "Yeah? Well, if you shave your beard and go along with me on this, then maybe I may reconsider."

Reeve suddenly felt the pull to rub his hand cross his scruffy face, muttering, "But I like my beard."

I frowned at those two, hands on my hips.

"Guys, I can't think of another way. Cloud, we do what we did in Wall Market. It's the same exact thing as getting into Don's Mansion. And we don't even have to sleep with anyone this time, I think." Unless customs were entirely different here, I was gambling that old fashion Geisha were more of beautiful entertainers, not at all like prostitutes.

Cloud and Reeve groaned.

I threw my hands down, not in the mood to argue.

"Fine, then I will go. I will tell you all what I hear once I get inside," I fussed, turning away to step towards the wooden gate, until someone took a hold of my hand to stop me.

"All right. If it means not having you go alone, I'll..." I turned to find Cloud swallow nervously. He furrowed his brow when he muttered lamely, "I'll go, dressed as a Geisha. And Reeve-" he turned his cold eyes to him. "Is coming with us!"

"What?!" Reeve stiffened. "But I really like this beard."

"I don't think two of us is enough, and you look a bit more feminine than Cid and Barret," Cloud barked. Reeve snapped his teeth together.

"Really? Cid looks more manly than I do?!"

"Reeve, please?" I asked, taking his gloved hand into mine. Reeve looked into my eyes steadily, breathing easier. He sighed long and slow, blowing back snow to tickle my face. Already, defeat appeared on his soft face before he even said it.

"If it means to get Yuffie and the Huge Materia back, then fine. I'll go, too." He nodded, making an effort to put more enthusiasm in his small smile. For Yuffie.

I beamed at both men, a hand to each of their arms.

"Great! Cloud, call Barret to give him an update. In case this plan fails, we go with Plan B, and we need the rest of the gang for that," I advised. Cloud didn't hesitate to call. As he spoke to Barret, I sparkled at Reeve with a soft, "Thank you, Reeve."

He huddled in his scarf to hide his red cheeks, looking away.

"Welcome," he grumbled.

When Cloud got off the phone, I asked him how much money he had.

I knew he suppressed a groan before replying, "Quite a bit. Why?"

"We need to bribe them to fix us up, of course," I answered.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I already hate this."

I smirked, dragging him and Reeve behind me, and then I opened the wooden gate to step inside a white bonsai garden. Upon the wooden steps into the elegant home, there were two geisha considering us, dropping their tea cups from their perched benches under a roof. Snow thickened, adding more inches to the ground. I felt terrible to leave my mark when I spoiled the perfect white path with my footprints, taking the caked stone steps to the door, and after hesitating for a second, knocked.

Within seconds, footsteps grew, and then a bamboo door slid open, revealing a beautiful woman with long, black hair over one shoulder, her face covered in white make up. She looked at me, and then over my shoulder at Cloud and Reeve, wrinkling her nose as though she could already smell how little money we held.

"Can I help you?" She asked before pressing her red lips together.

I swallowed, trying to maintain my posture, and dropped my hood to reveal myself.

"Hi. Uh, I heard you are the Zuiichi House and have quite a reputation to providing the most beautiful Geisha in Wutai," I tried.

The girl wasn't easily flattered. She tucked herself under her pink, silk robe to hide from the cold.

"Yes. Aaaand?" She dragged.

I cleared my throat.

"We would like to have a night of your perspective, what it's like to be a geisha. Dress like you, entertain like you, all just for tonight," I pitched.

The girl was ready to slam the doors together, when I pressed my frozen sneaker between them, prying them open with my cold fingers.

"We'll pay you, of course! Ten thousand yen," I cried.

"Aqua," Cloud growled.

The girl stalled, her eyes flickering from me to the inside of her home with what little gap she left between the doors. She slid open a door a little more, and observed Cloud again, cocking her head with her hair falling. Her eyes then sparkled, pleased at what she saw. She then considered Reeve, and pursed her lips.

"Wait here," she sighed, and quickly left.

"What's with you throwing our money away?" Cloud asked, huffing over my shoulder.

"What's with you being so tight with money?" I challenged, blowing cold mist in his face.

Cloud clasped his hands together under his nose before he considered making fists, glaring down at me with frustration.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot how much you like powerbars at every meal. I'll reconsider that next time we stock up the airship," he ranted.

I returned his glare, hands on my hips.

"Oh? Yes, powerbars are just full of nutrition, which is precisely what I need right now, don't you think?" I huffed sarcastically. I remember reading off the wrapper's label, nothing but mostly sugar and fat, all dense calories to keep one full between meals.

Cloud's jaw tensed, his joined index fingers pressing over his lips to stop himself from saying something he'll regret later.

"We need enough to stock on potions and upgrade our gear if we want a chance at fighting Sephiroth," he tried.

Fighting Sephiroth sounded so far away, a lost memory that I knew we eventually had to remember. So many little distractions taking up our precious time.

I took a deep breath.

"What's more important? A wallet full of Gil, or having the Huge Materia back in our hands?" I put out there. Cloud shall decide, and he did so with a furry.

He took a deep breath through his nose, and slowly defused his inner bomb with a long exhale, dropping his hands to clasp mine.

"Why do you do this to me?" He sighed.

"Do what?"

"Convince me. You don't even have to do Aerith's puppy eyes, and for some reason, I can't say 'no' to you," he mentioned.

"It's called boobs, Cloud," I snickered, taking away the romance from this moment.

Cloud silently dropped his jaw. Reeve overheard, his eyes growing wide with uncertainty whether to laugh or stay quiet.

There were stomping of steps, and then a door slid open. I turned, ready to smile at our lady, and almost choked.

A furrowed, thick brow woman frowned at us, her size similar to Barret's revealed as she pushed the doors wide open with her thick hands. Was she the matchmaker from the Mulan movie?

"What is this I hear about wanting to be beautiful?" She snapped, her muscular arms tensing. I swallowed while Reeve silently stepped away, but Cloud grabbed his arm to stop him with barely a nudge. Reeve stood back in place and dropped his eyes politely, afraid of this strange beast in women's clothing.

I had to blink to regain focus instead of running in the opposite direction.

"Good afternoon," I bowed politely. "We would like to be geisha for tonight"

The woman twisted her round face at us, her cheeks curling into tight round pink orbs like a squirrel with nuts stuffed in its mouth.

"For just tonight?" She barked, a hand on her heavy hip.

I bowed again.

"Yes, tonight."

"I'm supposed to send girls to see Godo tonight. Why should I let strangers do it? We have a high reputation here," she fussed. Her slanted eyes then caught sight of Cloud, and her face softened, blinking at him as though mesmerized by his attractive features.

"Hmmm, on second thought..." She fanned herself, cream blush making her face appear flushed.

"How much you offer?" She changed her mind suddenly, grinning behind a golden hand fan.

"Ten thousand," Cloud muttered, avoiding the large woman's shining eyes.

"Fifteen-thousand. There's much to be done with the other man," she demanded. Reeve held his breath.

I bit my lower lip and looked at Cloud to meet his eyes briefly. He turned to the mother of the household and asked her, "And you will let us inside Godo's castle?"

The woman shrugged her strong shoulders.

"Meh, fifteen-thousand is more than what he's got," she joked, her low, man-like voice rattling until the paper walls trembled.

I flinched, almost grabbing for my lips to stop myself from throwing a joke that would get us all killed.

Cloud sighed impatiently.

"Fine. Fifteen-thousand," he grunted.

The woman extended her hand out, expecting payment right away. As slow as possible, Cloud took out his wallet, and painfully, pulled out fifteen paperbills of Gil.

The woman grinned, counting the money in her busy hands, many rings glimmering under the hallway light.

"You call me Mother Tsuyo. Now, let's get inside. We have only three hours," she barked, stepping back into the large oriental home to get out of the light blizzard.

I was beginning to regret my idea as I stepped up the stairs through the doors, Reeve, and Cloud following with doom on their faces.

—

Girls giggled, watching from the hallway, their painted eyes peering through the gaps of sliding doors to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone couldn't stop awing over Cloud as he slipped out of his clothes. His uniform spilled over the tatami mats, girls glad to swallow it up in their arms and wash it. I was one of the gawkers, unable to look away from his bare skin glowing under the soft, yellow lamps, his muscular arms well-defined to meet his strong shoulders. His strong chest suddenly tempt me to almost reach and lay my head on it, sighing over his six-pack.

Reeve, on the other hand, hesitated. He took off his snow jacket and blazer, but when he took a glance at Cloud's perfect body, he reconsidered stripping down anymore.

"You know what? I don't think I should do this. I got nothing compared to Cloud," he exclaimed, jabbing his hand at the Mako soldier. "I'm a pile of garbage!"

I giggled at Reeve's outburst while a few ladies helped me out of my clothes.

"Reeve, stop fussing and just go with it," I advised warmly, hiding behind a four-foot high screen. Cloud and Reeve couldn't see anything below my shoulders, though I still blushed, feeling exposed when I stripped down to my underwear. Girls gawked over my breasts, trying to touch, when I crossed my arms to cover up.

The Mother of the house marched into the room, frightening the younger girls away from their spying posts like startled birds. She frowned at Reeve and pointed at him with a folded fan.

"Bath. Shave! Wax, all of it! I want his skin as flawless as the other one!"

Reeve's lips trembled as two women helped him out of his wrinkled business shirt. I snuck a glance at his soft belly and hair on his arms and legs, and tried not to wince at the thought of his fate.

"W-Waxing?" Reeve squeaked.

"Lucky you," Cloud grumbled sarcastically, but he grinned, enjoying the show of Reeve's misery while standing in his underwear.

"Do we have to do this all in the same room?" Reeve asked, his face growing deep red when he caught me glancing at him. I giggled at his embarrassment, along with the other women. He's hilarious when he's nervous. Cloud was the only one annoyed, stretching his arms out so that a lady could take his measurements.

"Reeve, chill the fuck out."

Reeve glowered at Cloud while struggling to sit still, ticklish from the measuring tape against his chest.

"You know what, Cloud?" He seemed ready to fire a threat or curse at him. Cloud blinked almost sleepily at him, not intimidated in the slightest.

"What? Just say it."

Reeve clenched his teeth, leaning forward as though about to throw a punch. A girl gasped, failing to measure his arm.

"You..." He boiled, pent-up rage collecting behind his teeth.

"Go on, give me your best shot," Cloud taunted.

I waved my arms up to catch the boys' attention.

"Guys, stop! Grow up, you two!"

Cloud quietly obeyed, simmering as he looked away with a scoff. Reeve sighed and crossed his arms, his back to Cloud with a huff.

I groaned, dragging my hands across my face. This was going to be a long evening.

We were separated to bathe. I enjoyed the few minutes of being under hot water, women scrubbing my back to get all the grime off. I didn't realize how filthy I was until I watched the water trickle down the drain in a greying filth.

After the scrubbing and drying, I was smeared with strong smelling lotions, and nails filed and painted.

It was a whole VIP salon experience, two or more ladies working at once to transform me into one of them.

A girl fussed over my hair, her hand brushing through it messily.

"It's so short," she sneered.

I was shoved into a white robe and guided into a room filled with vanity mirrors and make up. Other women were dressing up for the evening, peering from applying lipsticks and eyeshadow to have a look at the guest wanting to be a Geisha.

The women fussed over what to do with my sad, damp hair. Mother Tsuyo marched over, her rough hands over my scalp.

"Just braid and add barrettes. Simple," she ordered. Her servants wrinkled their noses, short hair a disgrace in their household. If only they knew why I cut it in the first place. I tried not to go back to the past, dwelling on how I gazed upon my frail self in the mirror, unrecognizable without the haircut. I took in a deep breath to calm, inhaling sweet incense and floral perfume.

Red paint brushed over my lips. Eyebrows plucked. White powder patted my face, earrings clipped over my ears. My hands became well manicured, and yet hidden under long, translucent sleeves of lace.

Layers upon layers of silk and chiffon draped over me, leaving room for my neck to breathe. Ribbons tied around my waist, forming bows to fall down my back.

I gladly replaced my sneakers with soft slippers, feet finally warm and dry.

It took a long time, but mother Tsuyo seemed pleased with herself when she took a good look, urging me to come in front of a tall mirror.

I stepped into view, and didn't even recognize myself. The white face woman stared blankly at me, her red lined eyelids blinking constantly to fight away the fake lashes that irritated her. Half my silver hair was pulled back in braids, held up by silver clips.

A silver comb held a blue rose over my hair, tiny chimes of silver flowers pouring over one side of my face.

A particular theme of blue and silver with traces of white took hold of my wardrobe. My kimono perhaps told a story of silver fish swimming in dark blue water, a white ribbon holding it together.

I couldn't stop leaving my red lips open, marveling at the transformation.

"Wow," I gasped, not believing that girl gawking in the mirror, was me. I could be someone else for a night, leaving Aqua behind to sleep.

It was a struggle to walk in such tight-fitting robes, shuffling rather than making wide strides, and waited for Cloud and Reeve to be done.

Alone, I sat in an outdoor tea house, trying to get used to sitting on my knees over thin cushions. The afternoon turned to evening, lights clicking on to make the snowfall more visible, showing me how thick it was. It fell straight down, an army of white, fat flakes invading the branches of a bonsai until it bent to the extra weight. Stones were buried until they appeared as nothing more but white lumps in the backyard. At least a foot of snow covered Wutai by now. The tea I sipped reminded me of green tea back at home, the kind you could just easily buy in a tea bag and plop in your work mug. Unexpectedly, of course, I thought of home.

I've always wanted to visit Japan. Does Wutai count as an accomplishment to such a faded dream? How do two wholly different worlds carry such similarities? It could lead to a whole chaotic argument of dimensions and mathematical equations, not something I was prepared to even ponder on. Instead, I pretended to be somewhere in Japan, just by myself, eyes closed and inhaling the snow and loose tea. The iron cup laid warmly in my curved hands. A frigid air penetrated my makeup, frosting my face as it snuck into my robes. Wind chimes of iron bells rang softly, blending with the outer world sounds of traffic and a city of old and new.

Such peaceful thoughts were interrupted when I picked up the sound of footsteps.

Two translucent paper doors slid open, and a young girl appeared.

"They're ready," she announced.

I said "goodbye" to my beloved daydreaming and followed the girl towards the viewing party.

Everyone waited by the entrance, eager to see the two men dressed as geisha. There were a dozen girls, all in giggles, whispers and hushed excitement.

I huddled with them, seeing how most were dressed as Geisha, ready for entertianing this evening.

Mother Tsuyo's heavy footsteps warned of her approach, and she slid open the shoji doors, her body blocking what was behind her. She smiled widely, taking a moment to adore her girls a few steps beneath her.

"Ladies. I give you….Men Geisha!"

She stepped aside, her large hand gestured the audience to gaze upon her creation.

All heads lifted, eyes growing wider. Mouths fell open. I smacked my hands over my lips, and Aerosmith's song, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" began to buzz in my head as soon as a jeweled slipper stepped into the light.

Draped over that slipper, dark pink silk glossed over a gleamed ankle. My eyes followed the pink silk of a skirt, held by a belt of purple and white chiffon. Pearls gleamed over his long, pale neck, matching earrings dangling against his blushed cheeks.

Spiky bangs almost hid one of his closed eyes, his eyelids outlined with red paint. A blond wig was speckled with pink and white flowers, a pink ribbon holding back a large bun. A chandelier of little red flowers dangled against the side of his white face, matching with his lip color.

It wasn't until Cloud opened his eyes, I thought the whole room quivered, all the girls twitching with a new awakening. He may as well have thrown a grenade because all the girls squealed like the room was about to explode.

Aerith would've been proud. I pictured her watching from up in heaven, falling backwards on a puffy white cloud when she fainted.

Cloud wasn't used to such attention, his eyes flickering off to the side with a long sigh of already being done with this whole thing. He kept his hands tucked inside his robe's sleeves, and his blue eyes searched through the group of excited girls.

He blinked when he found me, and stepped forward, reaching for my hand. Without his Mako eyes, I may not have recognized him, almost asking who was this woman approaching. I took her strong hand, I mean, his hand, suppressing a too large of smile when I got a good look at his makeup.

"Cloud? Is that you?" I gasped.

Cloud turned his head away as he squeezed my hand.

"Yep. It's me," he groaned, detached from the excitement. He sighed, meeting my gaze, and added in a monotone voice, "If there is even one picture taken of me, there will be some hell."

My smile grew, glad that this beautiful Geisha still had Cloud's voice and personality. You can't change everything.

Another wave of shrieks pulled our attention, and another beautiful Geisha stepped into the spotlight. Her painted brows wrinkled as she struggled to take to the steps in her slippers, tiny gold flowers tickling her white cheek. Such beautiful black hair oiled back, two black buns held together by yellow ribbon. Her red lips pressed together, almost fumbling forward in her kimono. It was bright white, with autumn leaves of gold and orange glittering along the hem of her long sleeves and skirt, a thick gold chiffon tired around her waist.

"Uh, I can't walk in these shoes," she complained, carrying Reeve's voice.

My jaw fell.

"Reeve?!"

His brown eyes spotted me, and he grinned poorly, large teeth behind red lipstick.

"Uh, yeah, it's me," he breathed. Mother Tsuyo rolled her eyes and shoved him. Reeve fell forward and landed with much effort on the mats, able to maintain his posture after all.

Like a penguin, Reeve waddled to join me and Cloud, ducking his painted face close to the gold neckline of his kimono.

"How do I look?" He asked, unable to look at me.

I swallowed. It was obvious that Reeve was a little too rough around the edges. Even his shaven face wasn't enough to hide how square his jaw looked, followed by his thick neck and Adam's apple. But no one would notice, not unless you were really trying to survey him an inch away. Let's hope Godo gets easily drunk.

"You look great," I squeaked, half lying.

Cloud fought the urge to crack up, and I caught his grinning eyes.

"I will call them now and let them know you are on your way. Maybe you can teach Godo to treat my girls better. He can be a bit of a pig. Not always that way, poor Godo," Mother Tsuyo snorted.

We thanked her and walked away towards the gates, holding out umbrellas to keep the snow off our backs and hair.

Cloud turned his head under a bright pink umbrella, and took a glance at me.

"You look beautiful."

I was thrown off by his out of character remark, almost tripping over a hidden stone.

"What? Uh, thank you," I struggled, collecting myself and glad my makeup hid my burning cheeks.

Reeve opened the gate, and as soon as the door pulled back wide open, there as a bright flash.

My eyes stung, seeing a bright white dot in my vision briefly. It took much blinking to let the flash fade.

"What just happened?" I asked.

After the bright orb faded, Cid and Barret appeared with large smiles on their faces. Something whined with gears, and the next thing I knew, a Polaroid in Cid's hands spat out a photo.

Barret snatched it before the snow were to damage it, and chuckled, "For the books."

Red stifled a laugh behind a paw, his grandfather there next to him, drooling.

Cloud boiled, Mako light seeping out from under his kimono. It traced along his hard face, eyes glowing bright at Barret.

"Give me the photo," he warned with a tone so dark, I took a step back .

Uh oh.

Barret was already running, heavy footprints left in the snow. He's not a fool to Cloud's threats.

"Shit!"

Cloud ruptured towards him like a loaded gun, lifting his tucked umbrella high in the air like a one-handed sword.

"Cloud!" I cried, baffled over a beautiful blond Geisha about to rain fire on Barret.

"You'll ruin your makeup!"

53