Good morning human guard. Let us in. That is all. (Cats & Dogs wins.) Chapter VIII for your purveyance.
"Well," Reno said as they exited Grandpa Souta's compound, "we've done everything that we needed to. We've figured out Karsk – sort of – and we know our bikes are on their way. And is it just me, Yuffie, or were you not waiting outside when we got here?"
Yuffie grinned. "Guilty. Rei and I had a... talk about Makoto."
"What's there to talk about?"
The ninja-girl gave him a playful shove. "You really are thickheaded if you think that Rei's lived with Makoto basically her whole life and isn't interested in him. She's so interested, actually, that she asked me to marry him because she thought it'd be for the best."
Reno gave a low whistle and Rude said nothing but was clearly surprised.
"And you said... what?" Reno asked.
"I told her that I'd get Makoto to see that she wants to be with him is all. It'd make it easier on me for sure."
With a triumphant laugh, Reno ground his fist into his palm. "Alright! All we have to do now is frame Karsk for having stolen the Leviathan materia and get Makoto to realize that you're untouchable and that Rei's the only girl for him, and we'll be able to call off this wedding!"
"Not so fast, stud."
"Technicalities?"
"You know it. Unless Dad says that they're unsuitable, Karsk and Makoto can't be disqualified as my suitors now that they've pledged that they'd like to wed me. That means they can't back out, either."
One of Reno's eyes twitched slightly. "Lemme guess. The contract's made that way so the suitor's family can't use the future of the marriage as leverage for something like a higher dowry from the bride's family."
"Bingo."
They got into the car and Reno started the engine. "I'm still not feeling this. Sure, we'll have our bikes the night before the day of the dice match for you, but what can we really do then? What we need is some way to delay the match."
Yuffie frowned. "We could always use a technicality... but what kind, I don't know. It probably couldn't be about me or Karsk or Makoto..."
"Doesn't Wutai have a long history of astrological divination?" Rude asked.
For a moment, Yuffie just stared openmouthed at him. "...How..."
"He wanted to be an archaeologist before he joined the Turks," Reno butted in dryly. "Don't ask."
"Okay, I won't." The ninja-girl flipped herself around in her seat to look at Rude. "So what's your point?"
"Couldn't you cast a reading saying that the day's an inauspicious one and that you need to wait a week or so?"
"Dad doesn't go for those old traditions, Rude."
"But isn't throwing dice to determine the suitor the bride's to be wed to an old tradition?"
"Good point. Well, it's worth giving a try." Yuffie looked at Reno, who was merging into traffic. "Now we just need to find someone who can do astrological divination. Where should we start looking?"
"Let's ask one of the attendant monks at the Leviathan shrine," Reno suggested. "That way Rude and I can case the place so we know that we can steal the materia if we need to, and chances are good that someone who works at a shrine to a water god'll know about that kind of stuff."
"Sounds good to me. Let's go!"
They arrived at the shrine, hoping fervently that Godo didn't happen to be looking out his window at that particular moment, and scrambled inside. Since Reno's last visit, the shrine had been expanded into an actual walled temple, and an impressive one at that. In sharp contrast to the dominant red theme of Wutai's landscape, this temple was a deep, almost black blue, with a sloping midnight roof that was studded with renderings of the constellations on the interior. Reno suppressed another whistle when he saw it all, seeing as how there were people kneeling before the shrine in prayer.
The shrine itself was the most impressive feature of the already-impressive temple. It was carved entirely from emerald-green jade, which when taken in view of the dark blue temple walls gave it a regal, dark greenish-blue color. The shrine was formed in the shape of a massive dragon, twisting its body into a great wheel, head staring balefully down at the gathered worshippers, a five-fingered, clawed hand outstretched around the pedestal upon which the Leviathan materia was placed. It was the only warm color to be found in the entire shrine, which drew focus to it immediately.
"Impressive," Reno commented quietly. He craned his neck and looked up at the ceiling. "No entrances there, but I'll bet you that I could just get in through the window of some monk's quarters. Not too difficult, and I don't see any additional security in this room."
"Really no need for it," Yuffie replied. "We all figure that if you try to take the materia, the shrine'll come alive and kill you. You don't piss off Seiryū and get away with it, you know."
Reno blinked. "Seiryū?"
"His name. You all call him Leviathan – and that's not even really what it translates to. His traditional name's Qīnglóng, but that's in older dialects."
"Great. Now..."
Before Reno could look around for a monk, one popped up seemingly out of nowhere. "Greetings, Lady Kisaragi and companions," he said, bowing at the waist. "Might I be of service to you?"
"No 'begone from this holy place, filthy foreigners?'" Reno asked before Yuffie could say anything.
The monk's eyes narrowed slightly, but it was a pained expression, not an offended one. "No, though I fear it will not be long before my brothers grow overzealous and begin to bar foreigners from entry. What do you require?"
"We need an astrological divination made," Yuffie replied. "We're trying to figure out how auspicious a particular day is, and we need someone who knows how to do it."
"Certainly. Our master of ceremonies knows the old rites necessary for multiple types of divination. I'll show you to him."
The monks' master of ceremonies was a middle-aged Wutainese man who looked at Yuffie, Reno, and Rude sternly before inviting them to sit. His quarters were simple, modestly appointed, with astrological diagrams and constellations inscribed on the walls.
"There are many types of divination I can perform," he said, his voice a baritone. "Some weigh more heavily in certain areas of the world than others. Describe to me the purpose of your asking me to perform a divination and I will select the most appropriate type."
"I'm getting married soon, and I have two suitors," Yuffie started.
"So you wish to examine the auspices of the day that has been selected for the rolling of the dice."
"Yeah."
"A common request. Oftentimes asked for in order to move the appointed day, usually with the intent of delaying it."
Yuffie coughed nervously and gave a weak grin.
"Do not worry, Lady Kisaragi. It is not my place to judge – at least not out loud."
Reno laughed at that. "You're all right, old man. So, what'll be the deal?"
The monk raised an eyebrow. "I cannot falsify an astrological divination, young man. Whether or not the chosen day is auspicious is out of my control – your fate is literally in the hands of Seiryū." He turned his attention back to Yuffie. "The most appropriate divination in this case does not concern the positions of the planets, as it is an interpersonal affair. Instead, I will take your respective years of birth and correlate them in an array. Your ages, please."
"I'm eighteen. Karsk's fifty-nine and Makoto's twenty."
"So you, Lady Kisaragi, are of the Dragon... Sub-General Karsk is of the Pig... and Makoto is of the Tiger. When is the chosen date?"
"The twenty-first."
Twisting, the monk turned to study one of the diagrams on his walls, then turned back to Yuffie. "I will explain briefly how this array determines auspicious days. It takes the animal representing the birth year of each person involved – the bride and all suitors – and converts them into the shichen, or two-hour intervals, of said animals. We then add up the intervals between the different shichen. In this case, the sum is seven – one shichen between Tiger and Dragon and six shichen between Dragon and Pig. If the appointed day is a multiple of the sum, it is auspicious. As the appointed day, in this case, is the twenty-first of the month, it is extremely auspicious – it is the sum times three, three being the amount of people that will be affected directly by the throwing of the dice."
"You're not factoring in the distance from Pig to Tiger?" Yuffie asked, thinking that there had to be a loophole somewhere.
"No. That would overcomplicate the array. It is linear."
Racking his brain, Reno finally asked, "Wouldn't it be possible for a third suitor to show up?"
"In this case, Lord Godo would have to allow it, and I doubt that anyone presents a solution more viable for the resolution of our current crisis than Sub-General Karsk or Makoto."
"What if the suitor in question was the richest man in the world?"
Yuffie sat up a bit straighter in surprise and looked at Reno. "You mean..."
"Yeah. Rufus Shin-Ra."
The monk snorted. "The son of the man who ordered Sephiroth to burn Wutai to the ground, marrying Lady Kisaragi in order to save it? I highly doubt that."
"He's turned over a new leaf," Reno insisted. "One call from me and not only will he make his personal fortune available to Godo for Yuffie's hand in marriage, he'll also offer the services of two veteran Turks."
After a long moment of silence, the monk asked, "His age, young man?"
"Twenty-two."
"In that case, his year is the Rat. The total shichen difference would be eight, meaning the closest auspicious day would be the twenty-fourth. As there would be four people involved, it would not be as auspicious as the current date, but the benefits of Rufus Shin-Ra marrying Lady Kisaragi are up to Lord Godo to decide."
Grinning, Reno extended a hand to the monk, who cautiously took it and received a firm shake. "Thanks, old man. You've been a big help. Come on, Yuffie, partner. We're going to go hijack us a dice-rolling date."
"The date stands," Godo rumbled.
Reno struggled not to rise, pull his prod, and bash the man's head off right then and there. "Don't you see, though? If we're going by old traditions, you oughta observe auspices and stuff! That means you should push back the dice-rolling to the twenty-fourth if you're going to let Rufus become a suitor!"
"First, though I am unopposed to the idea of Rufus Shin-Ra's support, you need his agreement on this beforehand. Second, I'm only using the dice-rolling tradition as a decision-maker. The fact that it's a tradition just makes it handy. I'm not going to base my decisions on outmoded astrological divinations, for the love of Seiryū! Only fools would plan according to coincidental mathematics!"
"That's funny," Yuffie remarked snidely. "Didn't think you could really pick and choose when it came to traditions, Dad."
Godo gave her a heavy-lidded, don't-go-there look. "I think that it will matter little, Yuffie. Now I suggest that you, Mr. Reno, call Rufus and get his agreement before pitching wild schemes to me. I know that you are doing this for Yuffie, and do not think that I don't appreciate it – but I will hold Rufus to any pact he forms with me. Make sure he understands that." That said, Godo stood and moved to the back of the room, closing the door behind him.
Yuffie gave Reno a pat on the knee. "No worries, sugar. This'll work out, I know it will."
"It damn well better," Reno sighed, pulling his cell out and dialing Rufus' number. "If Rufus agrees to be one of your suitors, I can represent his interests in the dice match."
"Meaning what?" Yuffie asked.
A tight grin blossomed on Reno's face as his phone began to give him a dial tone. "Meaning that we'll find some way to cheat."
"If you'd told me I'd only be doin' manual labor, Rufus, I wouldn'a come," Cid grumbled.
The Shin-Ra president looked at the grizzled pilot, who was busily cross-wiring a large Ethernet processor. "You do have a degree in electrical engineering as well as aircraft flight. We can use you, Cid."
"I still don't get what you're tryin' to do, kid. Transmit data through the goddamn air? Between two computers? Why the hell'd you want to do that?"
Rufus snorted gently. "Haven't you ever considered the advantages of having the capability for near-instantaneous data transfer in a form different than radio? Think of the advances we can make. Remote servers with entire libraries of information stored in data form, accessible via a local port. Saves you a trip to your local bookstore."
"I happen to believe in supportin' the small businesses," Cid shot back. "'Specially when they're going up 'gainst shit like massive corporations with a whole army, an elite force o' bodyguards, and a young punk for a president."
"I'll pretend I didn't grasp the humor in that."
Cid was about to fire off another riposte when Rufus' cell began to ring. "Go ahead 'n take that, I'll make sure none of yer techs sets off an explosion."
"Excellent." Rufus withdrew to a corner of the laboratory where his technicians were trying to create a data network between computers under the watchful eyes of Cid, Tseng and Elena. The two Turks weren't there so much to keep an eye on Cid as they were to protect the technical staff from his frequent and oftentimes borderline violent bursts of anger. Cloud's group is great to have an alliance with, but some of them are just a few fiduciary duties short of a trust fund.
"Rufus here."
"Boss, it's Reno."
"Reno, good to hear from you. Are you enjoying your leave in Costa Del Sol?"
"Well, long story short, we're in Wutai right now, and… I need a favor."
With a small grunt of satisfaction, Cid finished the wiring on the Ethernet processor. "Alright, that's done. Hey, someone run a power test on this –"
"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?"
"I want you to tell Godo that you're willing to pledge financial support, and Rude's and my expertise, to his cause if you get to marry Yuffie," Reno repeated himself. "That difficult to understand or something, boss?"
"You know exactly what the problem is, Reno. I have no interest in Yuffie, and I certainly don't have any interest in saving Wutai from its biker gangs. The police should be able to handle it."
Reno sighed; he knew that word. Rufus never had an interest in anything, it was always an interest. A sum. Cash. Preferably cash that grew over time.
After a moment of thought, the redhead decided on a course of action. "Alright, I'll lay it out for you, boss," Reno said, his tone cheery. "If Yuffie gets married to some scumbag that doesn't give a damn about her beyond how it'll enhance his own power in Wutai, I'm going to kill him. But to make sure that it doesn't start up another war, I'll resign from Shin-Ra first. Sound good?"
Reno didn't miss Yuffie's shocked expression or the way that Rude's presence suddenly seemed larger. "Don't talk nonsense, Reno," Rufus growled, his composure slipping by just a small amount. "You're not resigning. I take care of my people. If you want to kill somebody, I'll say it was business for me. It'd be even better if it was that ex-Shin-Ra officer there – what's his name?"
"Karsk."
"Karsk, right. Operational security could have been compromised, et cetera. We did what we had to do. It doesn't really sound like the Wutainese government would be in any position to object."
"That's not the point, boss," Reno said, his voice losing its merry tone. "I've killed people before, so when I say I'm willing to kill for Yuffie it doesn't mean much. I've never resigned before, though, and I've never wanted to, but I will if it comes down to it. That's how it is, and now it's your move."
A sharp burst of static meant that Rufus was blowing out a beleaguered sigh, probably curling up his bottom lip so the sigh blew some hair out of his face. Reno could see it in his mind's eye, that image of Rufus. The young president's blue-green eyes were pointed towards the ceiling and his left hand was in his immaculate white suit's pocket, his right holding his cell to his ear.
"Got a little hair in your eyes, boss?"
"Oh, shut up," Rufus snorted. "If that's how you want it, Reno, fine. But I'm not flying out there to throw dice with some biker punk and a career officer long past his prime for some spaz ninja-girl."
"Excuse me?" Yuffie snarled. She had her ear up to the phone, after all.
"You can hear me, Ms. Kisaragi? Then get this straight: I'm not marrying you. Your father can just think that if it'll keep Reno from resigning."
"Not like I'd want to marry you, babe."
"We understand one another, then. Reno, you'd better have a plan for getting out of this if you end up winning."
Reno's grin returned. "It's in the bag, boss. Tell Tseng and Elena 'hi' for me and Rude."
"Will do. Don't forget to enjoy your leave." There was a click, and it was done.
Pocketing his cell, Reno looked up into Yuffie's ecstatic face, which was adorned with a smile so large it could probably be construed as an aircraft hazard.
"You mean it, Reno? You'd resign from Shin-Ra for me?"
"Of course. Not planning to, but if it came down to you or my job, well… I could always find a new career."
Rude got up and moved to the door Godo had disappeared through. He opened it and found the old man sitting in meditation in a small, austere rear chamber.
"Well?" Godo asked.
"Rufus says he's willing to enter into the marriage contract with the agreed-upon terms if Reno represents him at the dice throwing," Rude said.
"Excellent. The date remains the twenty-first." Opening one eye, Godo tried to look past Rude but failed to see anything of particular note. "Where are Reno and Yuffie?"
"They're teaching one another mouth-to-mouth resuscitation techniques."
Godo showed a small, brief smile before resuming his normal stony expression. "What about you, Mr. Rude? Have you any reason to try to make the best of this situation for Yuffie?"
Rude hesitated for a second, then replied, "Yuffie would do this much for me, and Reno likes her. That's really it."
"I see. The three of you are dismissed. And tell your partner and my daughter not to leave any clothing on my floor."
With a short nod, Rude stepped out.
No sooner had the three of them gotten into the car than did Reno say, "Tonight, we take Karsk out of the picture."
Yuffie looked at him, his electrifying taste still strong on her tongue. "You sure that's a good idea, sugar?"
"Now that Makoto won't be able to marry you by default when Karsk drops out, it's time to start fixing the odds in our favor. First, though, we need to make a little acquisition – a pair of Orochimaru jackets."
Rude raised an eyebrow, which Reno could see in the rear-view mirror. "You think the Orochimaru are going to try 'something big' tonight?"
"I'd say yeah, partner, but we're not members. Yet."
There was a satisfied, triumphant silence for several minutes as they merged back into traffic, then Yuffie pointed out, "By the way, Reno…"
"Yeah?"
"You didn't tell Rufus about the bikes."
