Authornote blurb here! Too entrenched in Ragdoll Masters to think of one! Seamless product placement is a lie! Chapter VII is also here.


"Next stop of the day, Grandpa Souta's place," Reno declared as they stepped out of Karsk's condominium. "I got the address from him 'fore we left The Jade Dragon."

"We're heading there?" Yuffie asked. "When did we decide this?"

"Call it a spur-of-the-moment decision. I wanna see how much progress the old man's made on our bikes. He should have 'em ready by the time Karsk and Makoto'll have to play dice to figure out who marries you, but I like checking up on my investments."

Trailing a step behind them, Rude discreetly removed the explosive from the tip of his umbrella and deposited it in a garbage bin. "Backup plan's secure, Reno – unless trash pickup's anyone soon."

Raising an eyebrow, Yuffie looked over her shoulder at the bald Turk. "What backup plan? And no, trash pickup is a week from now."

"Rude and I discussed it last night on the way to The Jade Dragon. If we needed to, we could take Karsk out of the running to marry you, no problem."

"How d'you figure that?"

A small grin breaking out on his face, Reno jerked a thumb in the direction of the pagoda. "The Leviathan shrine with the materia's there, right? All we gotta do is sneak in and steal that materia, then plant it in Karsk's room and set off the explosive in the bin. The police go in, they get to snooping, they find the thing."

Yuffie felt her mouth open in a silent oh of surprise for a moment before she collected herself. "Are you crazy, Reno? Rude said that that thing would blow up anything within… er."

"Ten meters," Rude supplied.

"Ten meters! That's, like, a really big hole. What if you kill someone?"

Reno's grin slipped off of his face and his expression turned deadly serious. "That's what Rude and I do, Yuffie. I've killed people on the job before, and it wasn't even personal. You think I'm gonna bat a goddamned eyelash at killing some grunt to keep you from getting married to someone you don't love?"

No words supplied themselves to Yuffie at first. She just stared at Reno as the three of them walked back to the car and got inside.

This was the side of him that Yuffie almost never saw – and she was glad of that. Reno could be something of a pain at times, that much was true, but Yuffie knew that deep down he was a good person. He just didn't have as many ideals as most other people, wasn't burdened by religious faith or moral quandaries. If he wanted something, he worked to achieve that end, and Yuffie knew that he was not lying when he said he would kill whoever happened to be in the way to keep her from being married against her will.

The only reason he hasn't gone ballistic on Karsk and Makoto is probably that he knows killing them wouldn't solve anything. It would only complicate things, so he has to follow the rules of the game for now if he wants to win.

Yuffie stole another glance at Reno as he started the car, and she saw that he'd resumed being cheerful. Oftentimes she wondered if the cheer and the clowning around was just a front, thrown up to conceal something much less pleasant and jovial. That was silly, of course; Reno was just a goofball at heart. He'd just adapted to his job and his lot in life with admirable tenacity.

They stopped at an intersection and a group of bikers roared by perpendicularly. Yuffie looked over at Reno again and saw the smile and cheerful expression flicker for just a barely perceivable second.

A chill ran itself down her spine and the ninja-girl concentrated on the road in front of the car. What she saw beneath that smile couldn't be the Reno that she knew – and loved? – but instead had to be some emotionless shell he'd thrown up to keep himself together through difficult times. What he did was by definition difficult, after all.

What she saw when Reno dropped his smile frightened her.

It wasn't as though she glimpsed a different person than Reno in those brief instances. He was still himself, but he was bereft of all the qualities she associated with him. Assuming that he only showed this face to a select few, Yuffie figured that she should be honored, if not precisely thrilled. It meant that, perhaps, she was one of the people that he felt he could actually act tired around.

If there was one word to describe him, she thought, it was "boundless." Boundless energy, boundless sarcasm, boundless good cheer even in the face of insurmountable obstacles. However, if what they'd been through in Spira had taught her anything, it was that nothing was boundless. Perhaps he felt he could stop being boundless around her, just for a little while, and let himself simply –

Be himself?

That couldn't be right. The wisecracking, irreverent young man was who Reno really was. He couldn't possibly be anything else, but that still left unanswered the question of what, then, happened to Reno in those brief instances.

Was he overtaken by something other than himself? Did he cease to be the Reno that Yuffie had shared so much with and become someone entirely different, a stranger? It wasn't possible that he could be Reno, and at the same time be this cold, mercilessly calculating person who would kill at the drop of a hat.

Despite all logic, Yuffie knew that the mutual exclusion of these two personalities had to be the truth, because she had seen this person in Sephiroth. She'd seen it in him, even when he'd had his Jenova simulacrum take Reno's shape and try to rape her while she slept. The idea that Reno could share any qualities with the man who'd come so close to sundering the world was a bitter pill that Yuffie could not bring herself to swallow, even though she knew it would eventually melt on her tongue in any event.

"We're here," Reno said.


Rei was just beginning, an hour later, to drift back into the realm of sleep when someone knocked on the door again.

Dammit.

For the briefest instant Rei considered pretending she was asleep and not answering the damn thing, but immediately rejected the idea. She was here on Grandpa Souta's generosity, and the least she could do was answer the door for him. Her makeup was sufficient to disguise any bags beneath her eyes.

Hauling herself to her feet, Rei stumbled out of Grandpa Souta's room, through the hall, down the stairs, and to the door. Suppressing a yawn, she opened it and was greeted with the sight of Yuffie Kisaragi, Reno, and Rude.

"It's you!" she managed. "Come in!"

Yuffie nodded and managed a grin. "Thanks. We met before?"

"I know your companions," Rei replied, stepping aside and beckoning the three in. The geisha observed, unconsciously, how loosely Yuffie walked – hips scintillating from side to side as though the short shorts she wore weren't enough. No wonder Makoto…

Suppressing a scowl, Rei cut herself off in mid-thought. Jealousy is not permissible. Makoto has made his decision, and I have to respect that.

"You look tired, Rei," Reno observed, starting her out of her reverie. "There somethin' wrong?"

"Not at all," Rei quickly replied. "I must ask you to be quiet, though. Makoto's upstairs, sleeping – he stumbled in here not an hour ago, drunk and beaten. I assume, Mr. Reno, that you didn't have anything to do with this."

A look flashed between Reno and Rude, and a moment later a similar look was exchanged between Reno and Yuffie. "Well, he tried to say 'hi' to me in an alleyway at around twelve-thirty," Reno said cautiously. "I didn't really manage to get in much more'n a couple of punches – purely for defensive reasons. After that we heard cops coming and he took off."

Rei pressed her lips together in a brief frown. "I see. Will you be wanting to speak to Grandpa Souta?"

"If that's all right."

"I'll just wait out here," Yuffie added. "Just looking at a motorcycle makes me queasy."

In one, crystal-clear moment, Rei made a decision. She motioned down the hallway. "Head that way, then take the first right. You'll come to Grandpa Souta's workshop."

With a short nod, Reno gave a small hand signal to Rude and the bald Turk followed as the redhead strode in the indicated direction. "Be back in a few, sugar."

"Alright."

Yuffie turned to wait outside with the car and Rei stretched out a hand and took hold of the ninja-girl's shoulder. "Pardon my rudeness, Lady Kisaragi… but could we speak?"

Stopping in mid-step, Yuffie spun on her heel and mustered a smile. "Sure! And call me Yuffie. All that 'Lady Kisaragi' crap is starting to get to me."

Rei inclined her head and motioned for Yuffie to follow, then ascended the stairs and moved past her room to Grandpa Souta's, seating herself in the center of the floor, which was featureless except for the floor mat off in a corner. The room itself, barring the windows, had but one decoration: a large and majestic ink painting, two meters long and a meter tall, that spanned the entirety of the east wall. It depicted Seiryū, known to outsiders as Leviathan, descending in a tidal wave on an invading horde.

How differently it turned out, Rei briefly thought.

Yuffie seated herself in front of Rei and gave a short, upbeat sigh. "So… Rei, right? What's up?"

I must do this for his sake.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, Rei pushed herself up into a kneeling position and kowtowed, touching her forehead to the floor. She could hear the beginning of Yuffie's strangled protest, and to cut it off she looked up at the ninja-girl quickly and said, "I would like you to seriously consider marrying Makoto."

Quite obviously shocked, Yuffie stared at Rei for a second before replying. "He didn't… put you up to this, did he?"

"No. I am requesting this of my own volition."

"'Kay. Why?"

It has to be said. "People may think Makoto is insincere or prone to erratic behavior, Lady Kis – Yuffie. He's simply passionate about upholding his ideals. He wants to be in a position to see them enforced, and he needs power to do that… but you're not just power to him. He really does love you."

A scowl crossed over Yuffie's face before she smothered it. "How d'you know? Has he said anything to you?"

"When Grandpa Souta and I put him to bed, he was so beaten and tired that he had apparently crossed into mild delirium. At one point, he mistook me for you and… well…"

Yuffie made a noise in the back of her throat. "I gotcha. He must have been really shitfaced to mistake you for me – I'm nowhere near as pretty as you are."

In spite of herself, Rei flushed. "You're too kind."

"No, you're really too kind. I mean, if our positions were reversed, there's no way in hell that I'd be doing what you're doing right now." Awkwardly, Yuffie leaned forward and put a hand on Rei's shoulder. "You really do care about him, don't you?"

For the first time in longer than she cared to remember – not counting what had happened earlier with Makoto – Rei had to consciously make an effort to bite back the tears. "I care about what's best for him. I don't know what, if anything, has made Makoto view you as this goddess that he so adores, but I know that nothing would make him happier than being able to marry you. And – if I may be so bold – what could Karsk offer you?"

"That's a whole other can of worms," Yuffie snorted. "But, hey, listen. When Makoto thought you were me, and… yeah."

"What of it?"

A small, sly smile appeared on the ninja-girl's face. "The way you told me it, is all. You didn't sound real upset about the fact that he was kissing you – you sounded upset about the fact that he thought he was kissing me."

Again in spite of her best efforts, Rei felt blood rush into her face. "Is it that transparent?"

"No worries, Rei. I'm a girl, too. If you were telling some version of this to Rude, or even Reno, it would go right over their heads." Yuffie grinned as she continued. "They're nice guys, but in the end, they're guys."

Rei felt a small smile blossoming on her face. "That's true. But –"

"Hold on, I'm not finished yet," Yuffie butted in. "Now listen. I think it's great that you're willing to ask me to consider Makoto. It really shows how much you care about him. But it really doesn't do you much good, does it?"

"I –"

"Listen to me. Your intentions are good, Rei, but you're going about this entirely wrong! You're asking me to consider Makoto so you won't have to worry about your own feelings for him. If you've 'let him go' then it won't be an issue when me and him consummate in the back of The Jade Dragon, that's what you're thinking."

Knowing that the ninja-girl was right, Rei said nothing.

"I say bullshit. If our positions were reversed, and I was a geisha in love with some guy who's chasing after a ninja that really, really isn't interested, I'd grab him by the collar and slap him a few times and say 'HELLO? I'M STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!'"

Rei felt her lips curve upwards in a small, sad smile that did not entirely reach her eyes. "That's easy for you to say, Yuffie. I'm not like you."

"Doesn't matter. If I see a materia I like, I'm not going to ask the guy who owns it what it does and how he got it – I'm going to steal it. In this case, you can't even really call it stealing, because the guy genuinely doesn't want the thing! The only reason that you're in this situation is because Makoto's an idiot and he's going after the ultimate prize when there's someone just as good right in front of him."

Unconsciously biting at her lower lip, Rei held up a hand. "Please, Yuffie. I truly thank you, but… I'm not just as good. It's in Makoto's eyes that I have to make myself as worthy as you, and I'm afraid I can never do that."

"Don't put yourself down before you've tried!" Before Rei could say anything to stop her, Yuffie grabbed Rei's hands and pulled them between her own. "Listen here. I promise you that not only will I not be marrying Makoto, but I'll show him what a special person you are. He can give you a chance for me, just like you were going to give me a chance for him."

A feeling passed over Rei, as though a great weight were being lifted from her back and she could finally spread long-crushed wings. It could happen. It really could.

And for the first time since she'd commended her parents' bodies to the family tomb, Rei let a tear slip down her cheek.

"Thank you, Yuffie."

Yuffie grinned and gave Rei a gentle thump on the shoulder. "Don't thank me just yet. We still gotta make it happen, after all."

The geisha wiped the tear from her face with the back of her hand and nodded. "You're right, of course. I can't properly express my gratitude."

"Then you don't have to. Frankly, Rei, you can keep him."


"I think the both of you will be very pleased with your bikes," Grandpa Souta said to Reno and Rude as they entered his workshop. A dozen young men swarmed through it while another dozen congregated around the frames of two bikes in the center of the place. "We're building them to your precise specifications and enhancing them where possible. Everything's going to be made of a mithril-titanium alloy, which combines the strength of mithril with the relatively light weight of the titanium. Engines are top-of-the-line models we got from our… exotic suppliers. You do realize how much these are going to cost, right?"

Reno nodded absentmindedly as he surveyed the workshop. "Rufus doesn't like to brag, but he's still the richest guy in the entire world. He can foot you the bill no problem." Turning to where Rude was standing, Reno started to ask him a question, then realized Rude was no longer there. The bald Turk had moved to the edge of the group of mechanics concentrated around the bikes and started looking at the chasses being constructed.

"These hollow?" he asked, indicating the long, slender tubes that made up the shaping framework.

"Technically, no," Grandpa Souta replied. What they have inside isn't solid, however – it's a rather revolutionary honeycomb interior comprised of stacked triangular segments. Much lighter than solid framework, while only sacrificing about eighteen percent of its tensile strength."

"Excellent. And this is where you'll mount the side-facing explosive chutes?"

"Yes, though I can't see how you're comfortable with the idea of riding on what's essentially a giant bomb."

Rude shrugged lazily. "Getting blown up's not the worst way to die."

"He's got a point," Reno drawled. "You don't feel much, and you figure somebody's gonna have to clean up what's left of you, so you can get satisfaction from knowing that at least one person's regretting that you died."

With a snort, Grandpa Souta strolled to his workbench and picked up a large spanner. Reno didn't pay any particular attention until he saw the way that the old mechanic was holding the thing. He gripped it in his right hand, even though he was left-handed, and he had his hand at the very base of the spanner's shaft, just like –

Just like you hold a Wutainese katana.

The revelation must have widened Reno's eyes, because Grandpa Souta looked at him and asked, "Is there anything wrong, Mr. Reno?"

Recovering his wits, Reno replied, "No. You just hold that wrench like it was a sword."

One of the man's eyebrows rose. "How very astute of you. I have a… marginal background in kenjutsu. Nothing of any particular interest."

Reno grinned, then pulled his riot prod, extended it, and hurled it in one movement. It spiraled through the air, crossing the distance between its owner and its target in barely a quarter second –

The loud clash of metal on metal could be heard even over the noise of power tools and the voices of the work crew. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see Grandpa Souta standing in a perfect reactive stance, the spanner held in the tightening-grip to increase power. He had struck the tip of Reno's incoming prod with the head of the spanner and sent the prod shooting into a wall.

"Yeah, not particularly interesting at all," the redhead laughed as he went to retrieve his prod. "You fight in the war, Grandpa Souta?"

Relaxing, the old mechanic straightened and shook his head. "The philosophy of the style I command did not allow it. Wutai was falling into stagnation, and only a great shock could save it from the plummet into total petrification and death. I therefore elected to remain outside the employ of the government and actually become a mechanic, not simply make my living by being one." He looked around for a moment at the still-silent mechanics. "What are you gawking at? Back to work!"

"Grandpa Souta," one of the mechanics said slowly, "he just threw his prod at you. You're going to act as though nothing happened?"

"For one, Kuze, he's paying good money for these bikes. For two, he wasn't aiming at me. If I'd stood there gawking like an idiot – much like you – it would have gone past my head and hit the far wall. He's not dumb enough to actually try a lethal test against me, because if I failed it he wouldn't be getting his bike, would he?"

Reno laughed and gave the old man a slap on the back. "I like the way you think. Rude and I appreciate this way more than you can know."

"Then do me a favor," Grandpa Souta said, "and don't mention this to Makoto. He only knows me as a quirky, grandfatherly mechanic. If he knew that I was a kenjutsu master, I have no doubt that he would feel threatened."

"Your secret's safe with us," Reno replied as solemnly as he could when he was grinning like an idiot at the prospect of Makoto being in the dark about something this important. "Right, partner?"

Rude turned around and blinked, slowly, something that was visible even behind the sunglasses. "Just make sure that my bike blows shit up," he said to Grandpa Souta, "and we're square."

"Deal."