Beyond the Reflection
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII.
Summary: When Reno takes on the investigation of a case in Wutai, he gets more than he bargained for. Mainly: one obnoxious, spoiled, sarcastic, and infuriating brat. (Among other things of course.)
Red Lights and Difficulties
By:ClassicLit
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Wutaian Continent
Reno was trigger happy this morning. To make this statement more accurate, it meant that if he would have to stop at another red light he would blow someone's head off. Reeve was a brilliant president and rebuilding these cities was not easy, but damn! Why did there have to be a traffic light on every single intersection? Even the most insignificant ones had traffic lights monitoring them. This was just perfect, with Reno's luck every time his rented car came to an intersection (which was situated every twenty feet it seemed) the light would glow red.
Overall the whole manner in which he would be getting himself to Wutai was enough to make him want to strangle Reeve. Elena and Rude flew him all the way to the continent on which Wutai was situated, and then left him with a rented car and a small town that grew in the past half a year. So here he was driving through that exact small town and had to stop at another red light.
"Shit!" he cursed and hit the steering wheel with his hands "Unbe-fuckin-lievable!"
Of course the one hundred some red lights that he had to stop on was not his only source of irritation. The implications of what the mission was going to bring him finally caught up. First of, he was not your average hero who had a knack for saving damsels in distress…or in this case nations in distress. He much rather do surveillance or something of the sort. Second of, the fact that the brat will be in Wutai was enough for him to blanch. He can't even avoid her! She would have to be questioned and well…he would have to do it without shooting her.
His car came to a halt at another blasted red light. 'I really shouldn't concentrate on the negative aspects of this so much.' Reno thought wryly.
"Are there any positives though?" he said out loud "Oh yeah, right. I get to go somewhere other than Midgar." He answered his own question while stretching his limbs. This drew a strange look from the driver who stopped at the same red light on the lane beside Reno's. Reno almost growled, but resisted the urge seeing as the temptation of toying with the man was irresistible. Reno turned to the back seat, as if talking to someone and continued.
"Anyway son," he said with a smirk when he saw the man lean over at the mention of 'son' to listen in on the conversation. "Since you know how to use a gun now" Reno's smirk grew into a grin as he saw the man pale considerably "I need to teach you who to shoot. First and foremost, if a person hears you discussing something that could potentially lead to murder and make you a suspect, shoot the guy who heard you." Reno turned to the man in the other car with an evil smirk, but luckily for the poor guy the light finally turned green and he raced forward only to be stopped by another red light twenty feet up front. Reno grinned and slowly, almost lazily, made his way towards the other car. Perhaps this little car ride was not a complete waste of time after all.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Wutai
'It starts, it starts, it starts, it starts' Yuffie chanted in her head. What starts? Why her cousin in particular? Questions raced through her head until a very random one, yet also a significant one popped up. Who would be investigating this case? Needless to say, her relationship with people from ShinRa, except for Reeve, was a bit shaky. Even though Reeve was the president she was not exactly happy about her father asking for help. She would think that it could be done within. While on some things she had the more liberal outlook, on others she just wouldn't cave from her conservative bias. But that was the decision and she really couldn't do anything about it except hope that Elena would turn up. This was highly unlikely though because if Yuffie had to retch upon seeing the…body she could almost bet Elena would too.
Elena really didn't know her cousin very well. Actually she didn't know him at all. When she saw Yuske (A/N: I just made up a name…please don't shoot me) on the floor of the Pagoda she didn't even recognize him. Last time she saw him she was ten, and even then she didn't spend much time with him. Her limited acquaintance with him did not stop the feeling of dread that was slowly settling in her stomach. Why him?
She was again chanting the cryptic message in her head in the library when she heard a distinct sound of a car stopping outside the Pagoda. Now this was new she thought wryly. This was followed by curse after curse that Yuffie was sure Cid could learn from. She grinned a little at the thought of the pilot and headed outside. No need to keep the poor guy who's outside waiting. She would later regret ever berating herself for inconveniencing the 'poor guy'.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Outside the Pagoda
Reno came to a sharp stop outside the Pagoda. His rented car experiencing the same amount of relief that they finally made it. He drew some worried glances from the people who were praying at the Temple of Leviathan, but they turned away with a look of comprehension when they recognize his navy blue suite for what it was. He brushed some dust, which picked up after his less than gentle stop, from his suite jacket. When he turned to head for the Pagoda he was topped by a very shocked and a bit annoyed Yuffie, whose face mirrored how he felt perfectly. Well, might as well make the best of the situation.
"Not happy to see me brat?" he said with a smirk while casually leaning on his car and crossing him arms over his chest.
"Turkey?" she said while raising an eyebrow. At the nickname his amusement slowly faded into irritation. He hated that nickname. Upon seeing that, Yuffie gave a smirk of her own "Please don't tell me Reeve sent you."
"Of course he didn't." Reno said sarcastically while rolling his eyes "I just came here of my own free will to spend time with you, princess." They traded expression again. Yuffie growing agitated and Reno becoming amused.
"Godo said that it's my responsibility to show you the…place" she paused and Reno raised an eyebrow. Yuffie wouldn't be deterred though "so move and let's get it over with." Yuffie said while briskly walking back into the Pagoda. Reno stayed rooted to the spot however with an innocent expression. After a few seconds in which Yuffie realized he was not following her Yuffie turned back and poked her head out of the door.
"Turkey, you deaf or something? I did say…" she was cut short however.
"I heard what you said. It's what you didn't say." He said trying to sound mysterious and failing at it. He rolled his eyes at himself and said sweetly "You forgot to say please." To this Yuffie all but growled and started to walk back into the building ignoring the amused Turk who was following close behind.
When they finally got to the third floor Yuffie noticed that it wasn't as close to the ground as she thought. The time when she raced after he guy her legs were powered by the adrenalin, but now the climb took forever. The groan that she heard escape the Turk's lips proved that he was inclined to agree. They finally made it though and she made a move to start explaining what happened when she was stopped by a very soft sound that was coming from the floor above. She turned to Reno and saw that he too had noticed.
They both gave each other a worried look. Wordlessly Reno took out his gun and made slow deliberate steps towards the stairs. Yuffie followed close behind. They heard the soft sound turn into sure footsteps that were moving with deliberation towards the left. Reno suddenly bolted up and Yuffie's reflexes took her in the same direction. When they made it to the fourth floor they saw a dark figure, which Yuffie recognized as the same guy from three days ago, leap out the window. The first though that occurred to Yuffie was that the guy would probably brake his legs. The fall was not small and there was nothing but concrete below. You can imagine her surprise, as well as Reno's, when they saw the figure land smoothly on the ground below and bolt to the forest.
"Shit" she heard Reno whisper "how the hell did he do that?" that was the exact question that was eating at her. "Stay here" she heard Reno say as he moved away from the window.
"There is no way in hell Turk." She answered while trying to be as difficult as she possibly could. She deliberately brushed past him and started running down the stairs.
It didn't take long before Reno caught up with her. He almost growled. If anything happens to the brat Reeve will have his ass. There was really no stopping this though, she was being difficult and if they had any chance of getting to the guy before he disappeared completely they better not stop. They ran past the Pagoda and into the forest. All the while Reno was very much surprised that she kept up with him the whole way. When they entered the forest they finally came to their senses and saw that there really wouldn't be any way to find this guy. He wore all black and his speed wasn't something to reckon with.
"I think we lost him." He heard Yuffie sigh beside him.
"That was probably the most brilliant observation." Reno said sarcastically. It was only the beginning of his stay in Wutai and he was already getting a headache. She ignored his comment completely though.
"What do we do now?" she asked while still looking around in hope that the guy didn't run, but rather stayed in place. Needless to say her search for the figure in the immediate area came up with less than favorable results. Reno on the other hand did a double take.
"We? Brat, you are staying here and that is final. I am not dragging you all over Wutai so you can grate on my nerves." With that he turned and started walking but then…
"Fine I'll do it myself!" Yuffie said defiantly and headed deeper into the forest. Why? Why did this always happen to him? No matter the situation it always turned against him. There was no denying it though, if he let her wonder alone and she got herself killed the fault would be pinned on him. He sighed and turned around. There was no way he would win this argument he knew. That moment he noticed a trail of broken grass leading to the opposite direction of where Yuffie was going. He smirked and looked up
"Oi brat!" he called out to her. She topped and turned around to face him. He pointed to the trail and his grin only grew when a blush rose to her cheeks. She wisely decided to stay quite and walked in the direction of where Reno was pointing.
Thank you so much for reading. This is still a bit boring I know, but I think it will get better. Once Yuffie and Reno get lost in the forest that is.