In the interests of full disclosure, readers…
It's Chapter III.
What? You were expecting some secret maybe? "The box… says no."
Reno narrowed his eyes. "What do you want to talk to Yuffie for? I just thought you wanted to marry her."
Wiping his hands on a rag, Makoto shrugged. "What does any man want to talk to a woman for?"
"I prefer not to talk to most women. I usually end up pissing 'em off."
"Yuffie's not most women. I've been waiting for a very long time for this kind of chance, and I'm not going to let it just pass me by. So promise me that you'll get Yuffie to come here to talk with me, alone, or it's no deal and you get to find your bikes yourselves."
In his mind, Reno gauged the possibility of getting his information if he told Makoto that the gang leader could go perform various activities upon himself that involved large, sharp objects and general unpleasantness in the vicinity of the pelvis. He immediately disregarded the idea and moved on.
"I'm not so sure that it's a good idea, letting Yuffie come here by herself. How do I know nothing's going to happen to her?"
Makoto raised a hand. "I give you my word as leader of the Shinsengumi that she will not be harmed."
Reno blew a raspberry and said, "'I give you my word as the head of some punk-ass biker gang, which apparently is supposed to mean something, that I won't take advantage of your girlfriend when she's alone in my base surrounded by me and all my men.' Pass."
A growl escaped Makoto's throat and his left hand went for the sword on his back. "Watch yourself, foreigner. You're on my turf, here. Insults are not appreciated."
"Foreigner, foreigner, foreigner! There are bozos on the street who wouldn't sell me a bun because I'm a foreigner. Last time I checked, we all live on the same damn Planet. Doesn't that count for anything?"
"No," Makoto snarled, "we actually don't. You live on a Planet where you think it's just fine for you to go in, pillaging and raping, taking what you want and leaving the rest to rot. It's not like that any more. Wutai is strong again."
Reno took a step forward. "You insinuating something about me, asshole? I didn't give any orders in the Shin-Ra campaign against Wutai. That Sub-General Karsk guy gave plenty of 'em, I'm sure! Why don't you go and bitch to him?"
"Karsk publicly kowtowed to Lord Godo years back, after the war ended. I got no love for him, especially as he's trying to marry Yuffie too, but he's sincerely apologetic for what he did – and on top of that, he essentially freed us from the Shin-Ra by organizing the mutiny in the garrison."
"And so I'm expected to be sincerely apologetic for something I didn't do? Why the double standard, Makoto? You think you can get away with bullying around foreigners 'cause they got no place in Wutai? I'm in love with a girl from Wutai, you pretentious sunuvabitch!"
Makoto roared and pulled the sword from his back, charging, and Reno whipped his riot prod from his sleeve, ready to take on the man.
Rude stepped between them, lightning-fast. His umbrella lashed out and caught Makoto full in the chest, then rebounded and smacked Reno across the kneecaps. The gang leader stumbled backwards from the force of the block and Reno skidded to a halt, standing on one foot and holding his left knee, which had taken most of the blow.
"Calm down," Rude rumbled. "You're getting ahead of yourself, partner. We're just here for information." He turned to Makoto. "Yuffie will talk with you. But. You go to her place. We'll call ahead and let her know you're coming. You give your word as leader of this gang you won't do anything to her and we're fine with that, but you can't account for your men."
Breathing hard, the adrenaline obviously draining from his system, Makoto straightened and returned the broadsword to the sheath on his back. He exhaled loudly, relaxing all his muscles as he did so, then turned to Reno.
"You agree?"
Reno shot a glance at Rude, who was looking at him over the tops of his sunglasses. Don't screw this up, partner.
"Yeah. Fine," Reno growled. "Since you got such a high opinion of yourself and your motley little crew, I guess your word does means shit after all, even if it's only pertaining to you." He returned the riot prod to his sleeve and secured the spring there. "I'll tell Yuffie you'll drop by… when?"
"Tonight."
"Fine. Where can we find the guy who made Cloud's Fenrir?"
Yuffie's cell rang and she stirred beneath the thin blanket on her floor mat. Grumbling, she fumbled towards the sound of the phone, grabbed it, and brought it up to her ear before flipping it open.
"'Lo?"
"It's Reno, sugar."
"Hey," she slurred out, her tongue still thick. "What's up?"
"Rude and I got Makoto to tell us where we can find the guy who made Cloud's Fenrir – but in return you have to talk with him. He's heading to your place right now, so I'd suggest being decent by the time he shows."
Yuffie sat up and blinked the gumminess out of her eyes, searching for her clothes. They were obviously not what anyone would call modest, but the thin summer pajamas she was wearing were several sizes too small on all counts and she didn't want to give Makoto a show. "You couldn't have asked me about this?"
"I nearly knocked the asshole's head off and he was ready to slice me. When we reached a compromise it was take it or leave it."
With a low groan, Yuffie levered herself to her feet, stumbled about for a moment, and then pulled her phone away from her ear so she could look at the clock. It was only eleven-thirty, but the trip had been long and tiring. How Reno and Rude could function after such an exhausting day she had no idea.
"All right. I'll talk with him. He just better not be expecting some deep conversation about the meaning of life. I'm tired."
"So am I, Yuffie." That woke Yuffie up further; there was something about the tone of voice in which Reno made that statement that set off alarms.
"Is there anything wrong, Reno?"
There was a hesitation and then a sigh from the other end of the line. "Nothing I can't deal with, sugar. Right now I'd rather be horizontal next to you than anything else, but Rude and I got business."
"So much for our vacation," Yuffie observed wryly, beginning the process of pulling on her boots.
"I'll tell you all about it when I see you again. Be careful around that Makoto guy. I don't care if he promised no funny business."
Worry resonated in Reno's voice, and Yuffie felt a shiver go through her that had nothing to do with the cool night air or her too-small pajamas. She shook her head a little and said, "You forget who you're talking to, sugar? I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, after all."
"And I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie's boyfriend who's telling her to be careful. Be careful."
Yuffie felt the smile she'd mustered wilt a little. Poor thing's real upset about something. "I will, Reno. I will."
Reno clicked his phone shut and stared off into the night, his fingers drumming unconsciously on the car door. He was in the front passenger seat while Rude drove. The umbrella was between them, propped up against the front seat.
Go further downtown to a club called "The Jade Dragon." The maker of Cloud's Fenrir is known around here as Grandpa Souta. He likes a geisha at that club and visits her most every night for tea. Good luck getting his interest; he only makes bikes for people he likes.
The redheaded Turk clenched his right hand into a fist at the thought of Makoto. Thinks he's tough shit because he's in charge of some gang. And because of that, Godo thinks he's good enough for Yuffie.
Still, Reno was a realist. There had been fluid strength in the way Makoto had pulled his broadsword and rushed. If he'd been expecting the umbrella-smack from Rude, he probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. Reno had seen coiled muscle moving beneath the tee-shirt Makoto had on. The man was obviously not just a punk-ass gang leader.
At length, they pulled up across the street from The Jade Dragon. Its sign was a neon green dragon coiled about the name, which was spelled out in both Wutainese characters and ones that Reno could read.
"We go in and find this Grandpa Souta guy," Reno announced, getting out of the car. "Questions?"
"Think they'll let me bring my umbrella?"
Reno turned around to look at his partner. "No. I think the umbrella should stay here. To guard the car."
Rude's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses – which he wore even on nights with new moons, though tonight's was full – and then focused on something behind Reno. Turning back around, Reno saw what Rude was looking at: a geisha had strolled out onto a second-floor balcony of The Jade Dragon, looking radiant in the light of the full moon.
She had a parasol.
"I think the umbrella's coming."
"That's a parasol, partner. Not an umbrella."
Rude stared at Reno for a long moment and then said, "Then this one's a parasol, too."
Yuffie had just seated herself in her den when she heard a bike pull up outside. Moonlight streamed in through an open window and cast a bone-white pall over the room, while she herself sat in shadow on a divan.
She saw the gang leader's silhouette approach the front door and called, "It's open."
Makoto slid aside the front door, entered, and shut it behind him. "Yuffie. A pleasure."
"Yeah, yeah. You're here, Makoto. Talk."
The young man sucked in a breath before continuing further into Yuffie's house and seating himself across from her. "I should thank you for allowing me to come."
"I didn't have the chance to say no. Reno's sweet, but… well, yeah."
Makoto leaned forward on the couch, balancing his elbows on his knees, lacing his fingers through one another, and resting his chin on his hands. "Do you remember when we first met, Yuffie?"
Her reply came by way of a stiff nod. She'd watched her mother call forth the Water God, Leviathan, to try to down the silver-haired demon leading the assault on the city. He'd blown through her like she was a wet rag and stolen the holy materia for use as leverage.
Running from the enemy army, she'd been called out to by a young, dark-haired boy of nine. He'd pulled her into a small hideout that he and his friends Sheng and Rei had constructed and told her that she was safe as long as she stayed with them.
Opening her eyes, Yuffie realized that she hadn't stirred for nearly a minute and that Makoto remained motionless, gazing at her.
"Yeah, I remember when we first met, Makoto. So?"
"I had no idea who you were then. When the Imperial Guards found you and took you away, I realized that you were Lord Godo's daughter – the Guards wouldn't bother with any other child. They never gave me the chance to say goodbye to you.
"So I've watched you over the years. I watched you run away from Lord Godo and the tourist attraction he was turning Wutai into. I watched you come back and then run away again. I never did get the chance to talk to you, but I've been watching. And I've been improving myself, making myself somebody, so we would have this chance."
Yuffie resisted the urge to frown. She didn't like where this was going. "So you've been stalking me all my life. Yeah. Great. You can go now."
"That's not what I mean, Yuffie, and you know it. The Shinsengumi, the martial prowess I've gained over the years, all of them are just tools. I wanted so badly to be able to talk to you again, but you're the heiress of all Wutai. You don't talk to just anybody. I had to be somebody, and now I am."
Makoto rose and began to pace about the room. "And now I can show you, and your father, that I really am worthy. I'll help beat down the other gangs and disown the Shinsengumi myself if I have to. For you."
"You're creeping me out, Makoto."
He stopped pacing abruptly and whirled to face her, his eyes burning. "Don't you understand, Yuffie? For all these years, I've wanted to be able to see you again. I watched you grow into a beautiful young woman, and I knew there'd be other men who wanted to be with you. I'll prove to them, and to you, Yuffie, that I'm the best."
Yuffie remained silent.
"And I'll do this, Yuffie, because… because…" Makoto trailed off and looked down at his boots, visibly steeling himself. "Because I love you."
There was a long, dead silence between the two of them. Yuffie finally looked at him and said, "You can go. Now."
Makoto opened his mouth to say something more, but she cut him off. "No, I don't want to hear it. You've said enough. You can go, now."
The tension in the air thickened and became almost palpable, and for a moment Yuffie felt an attack coming.
Then Makoto turned and stalked out, disappearing into the darkness of the night.
The Jade Dragon was dimly lit in blue and green hues, with geisha moving throughout the place and attending to the customers, who sat at various tables drinking rice wine and conversing in hushed tones. Reno scanned the room, counting eight geisha in total and knowing that their elaborate outfits had at least a dozen places in which they could conceal weaponry.
He was still on edge from his confrontation with Makoto earlier. It was affecting him more than he'd care to think about.
"Looks like a bunch of back rooms through those doors," Rude observed quietly.
Reno shook himself out of it. "Yeah. Our man's probably in one of 'em with that geisha Makoto mentioned. Let's split up and look for him. If you find him, call me; I'll do the talking. Otherwise, just amuse yourself 'till we have to go."
"Got it."
Blowing out a labored breath, Reno forged ahead into the darkness of The Jade Dragon, looking sideways at the geisha and the clientele. He picked one of the girls at random and approached her.
She looked up at him from where she was kneeling down to pour one of the clients some more saké. A moment later the man, who was talking energetically with his friend, shooed her and she shuffled backwards quickly before returning to her feet.
"Yes?"
"I'm looking for a Grandpa Souta," Reno told her. "I hear that he likes a certain geisha here and comes for tea whenever he can. D'you know him or the geisha in question?"
The girl, who looked young enough to be Reno's younger sister – if he had one – looked around furtively for a moment, then beckoned Reno to an unoccupied table in a corner of the room. He followed her with a swagger that was only half-affected; he was tired, after all.
She pulled out a chair for him and then seated herself. Reno dropped into the chair and looked at her. "You want something to drink?"
He could have sworn he saw her flush, but she was wearing makeup, so it had to be a trick of the light. "No, I'm fine. We're not allowed to drink while servicing the clientele, anyway."
One of the brighter lights flashed across their table, and in the moment of clarity Reno took the opportunity to study the girl. She was delicately formed, almost fragile; her face was elegant and her eyes a beautiful amethyst shade. Though her kimono was seemingly a size too large, the redheaded Turk could see that she was shapely. Her raven hair was pulled up into a traditional geisha hairstyle, revealing her graceful neck in its entirety and framing her red, pouting lips.
"What's your name?"
"Rei. Why do you ask?"
Reno squinted at her slightly. "If you ask me, you look a little young to be in a place like this."
She made a gesture of dismissal, and Reno noted the way she flashed a tiny glimpse of her underarm as she did so. This girl's no amateur. Obi's tied in the back, too. This Jade Dragon place is more than it seems. "I've been training for this my entire life, even though we had a war with the Shin-Ra. Too young and too old… they're not something I need to be concerned with."
Shifting in his seat, Reno asked, "So, then, I'm guessing you know Grandpa Souta?"
Rei looked up at him and her ruby lips curled into a shy smile. "I'm the one he comes to see."
Yuffie collapsed, shivering, back onto her floor mat. She'd kicked off her boots and done nothing else; her black top and tan shorts were hardly ideal bedclothes, but she was too rattled to bother stripping out of them.
He's in love with me?
For years now, she'd been feeling a sort of presence whenever she was in Wutai, as though she was being watched. The one exception was when she'd stolen all of the party's materia and then nearly gotten introduced to Little Corneo, as the Don had called it when nobody else was around. The thought of that was enough to give her nausea on its own. Added to the fact that she now knew who had been watching her and why, it was giving her the chills.
Reno…
Yuffie was very much enamored of Reno, of that there was no doubt. They'd been through hell and back together and they'd done all manner of things pleasant and unpleasant – none of which she regretted in the least. She certainly hadn't slept with him yet, or at least not in the manner by which most people in a relationship slept with one another, but it was an inevitability if things kept going the way they were; namely, positively.
But…
Reno had never told her that he loved her. Whether it was reticence to say it, possibly from past negative experiences, or just that he didn't feel it was time, he'd never said the words.
Should that bother me so much? I never expected it out of him until Makoto said it. Does Makoto even mean it in the same way Reno would?
Do I love Reno?
The ninja-girl rolled over and unconsciously clenched her fists. She didn't have the answer to that question, or any of the other questions. What had seemed clear and easy to understand was now a labyrinthine and confounding problem, and her marriage loomed on the horizon.
Rei had pulled Reno into a back room and sat him in a corner while she laid out a kettle of tea and cups at the table. He watched her move, somewhat fascinated with her instinctive poise and grace even when there was nobody watching that gave a damn or knew how a geisha was supposed to move.
"So, this Grandpa Souta knows you?"
"He's known me since I was a child. He sponsored my training as a geisha so I could live a good life instead of as a farmer. He's an old friend of my family."
"Where's your family live?"
"They died in the war."
Reno winced. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault. Grandpa Souta has always taught me that holding someone responsible for the deeds of his race or civilization is the same thing that caused the war itself. Our isolationism will only cause us pain in the end."
There was a minute of silence as she poured tea and Reno brooded, then a knock sounded at the door. Rei did a quick check of herself to make sure she was composed and then slid open the door.
In the doorway stood a short, balding old man. He grinned toothily at Rei, then his gaze swiveled to Reno. The redheaded Turk felt as though he was being gazed upon by an old deity, so penetrating was the little bony man's brown-eyed stare.
"Who's this, Rei-chan? A boyfriend?"
Reno shook his head before the geisha could reply. "No. The name's Reno. I need bikes, one for myself and one for a partner of mine."
Grandpa Souta looked him over, stroking what Reno only now realized was an impressively braided goatee that hung down to the little man's waist. "Why do you want these bikes, young man?"
Reno pursed his lips for a moment, debating with himself, and then decided it couldn't hurt.
"I got… problems."
And he proceeded to tell Grandpa Souta and Rei all about them.
