Chapter 32
Two days had passed. While Tifa, Rufus, and Marlene were enjoying their time in Junon, Cloud was mentally beginning to snap. He couldn't figure out what was going on at all. Tifa had taken Marlene with her on a Shin-Ra business trip it seemed. Nothing could be as suspicious as that. The blonde-haired man was irritated because even the man who spoke with her the most had no information. It was either that, or Vincent Valentine was playing dumb. In an effort to get his questions answered, he called everyone together in the basement of Tifa's bar. Hopefully someone else would have some more information that he could use to his advantage.
The group of five seemed randomly spread out in comfortable positions (…sort of). Cloud had taken over the couch. Vincent leaned against the wall by the stairs. Barret, Cid, and Yuffie sat at the table, usually so frequented by Tifa. It had been silent for about ten minutes and almost everyone was wondering what the point of this meeting was. Most of them had something better to do with their time, so why was Cloud trying to waste it?
The impatient side of Yuffie was the first to show, "Uhhh…what're we doing? I could be getting materia, you know! I don't wanna be here anymore!" A hand rose to her face as her nose scrunched up. "It's stuffy in here because no one has cleaned since Tifa last did. And Barret and Cid smell!" Following a smack in the head, she stood up and lazily threw a few punches around. What she wouldn't give for a shuriken right about now. "An' they both just hit me!" She made a series of angry gestures at Vincent and Cloud, the two she thought of as bodyguards. "I demand to know what you plan to do about this!"
Great. Now she was whining. This was one of the most annoying things to endure. Tifa was more than a little lucky not to be there. Cloud wasn't likely to say anything. Lately he had done all of the talking in his mind. He felt he had gotten too talkative and instead retracted into his shell again. Coming clean with Tifa (well…what he considered "coming clean") had not worked in his favour at all and he had no intentions of doing any such thing again. It seemed to be Vincent's responsibility to silence the Wutai ninja, "Hush, Yuffie."
As though she could be anymore annoyed. Here she was, the great ninja Yuffie and she was being "shouted" down by Vincent…of all people. That seemed vaguely unfair to her. He rarely did any talking anyway. If anything, the talking she did made up for the quiet mode that he and Cloud had put themselves in. She pursed her lips together in a pouting fashion and then finally took a seat when Cid tugged her back down. There was really no need for another fight to break out. He was personally tired of hearing Tifa yell and scream and throw things. It seemed that Cloud was mainly to blame for that, though, so perhaps if he had gotten a front row seat, he would not have minded too terribly much. "Alright then. I'm not typically one to agree with Kisaragi here, but I'd like to know what we're supposed to be doin'. I was under the impression this was to be an important meeting." He lifted a hand into his ash blonde hair and shook the fluffy mane a couple of times. The idea of taking a shower was beginning to sound reasonably good. Of course, at the rate they were going, that might never happen. In which case, Yuffie's accusation would be correct.
"It is, Cid." Waiting for the others to be completely quiet, Cloud was vaguely hesitant to continue. Was it possible that they thought he would be overreacting? If that was the case, was it better not to say anything at all? However, if he did that, he might never know what was going on behind the scenes. It had yet to occur to him that the information he received might not be what he wanted to hear. If that was the case…well…he just didn't want to think about it. Finally he decided that he needed to say something and get to the bottom of this. He didn't want to be left in the dark anymore. If that meant hearing things that he didn't want to, he'd live. "Out of everyone here, I want to know if anyone has any information on Tifa's status in the Shin-Ra Electric Company. As most of you are aware, she recently left on a business trip to Junon. She took Marlene with her, however, which strikes me as odd. I am wondering if any of you can explain to me why that happened."
There was silence around every region of the room. The only person who probably had any information at all was Vincent. On the other hand, Barret was more than a little steamed that Tifa had taken his daughter to a Shin-Ra outing. He would simply have to have a talk (or a scream fest) with the young lady when she returned. Cid and Yuffie were equally confused by the situation and had no more outside knowledge than what Cloud was gifted with. Not receiving an answer, the blonde-haired male raised his posture slightly and looked around, not entirely pleased with the results. He would have expected more from the people who were her allies. Oh, well. There was nothing he could do to change any of that. "You seriously mean to tell me that none of you has any idea as to what's going on? Do none of you see what's wrong with this picture?"
More moments passed without any sort of response from the others. Finally Barret rose to his feet and slammed his metallic gun-arm into the table Cid and Yuffie were sitting at. "Yer damn right there's a problem! She took mah daughter wit' her! To a Shin-Ra thing! I don't want Marlene anywhere near those people! An' I swear…if somethin' happens to Marlene, yer gonna' be the one payin' for it, dammit!"
That was a step in the proper direction. Finally, Cloud was getting some kind of response. Even if Barret didn't have any more information, it signified that he was indeed alive and paying attention. If there was something he couldn't stand, it was being ignored. Typically he felt that if he was going to say something, it was damn important and everyone needed to be listening. His sea-green gaze passed over the black man and rested on the female and the other blonde.
Cid shook his head at him, his shoulders rising into a shrugging gesture. "Don't look at me. I know absolutely nothing about this or Tifa's plans. After all, I haven't had the chance to talk to her much." He cringed a little, thinking about how angry the brunette had been most recently. He really wanted to avoid that if possible. Of course, Cloud had a glint in his eye, which was beginning to make the fellow blonde a little more nervous. What could that man possibly be thinking? Wait…did he even want to know? Probably not.
"That's a problem easily fixed," was Cloud's response. Indeed, the vaguest smile began to appear across his lips. He finally pulled himself off of the comfortable couch. Pacing back and forth, it seemed he was formulating some sort of plan to get the answers to his encyclopedia of questions. Unlike the other schemes, which seemed as though they backfired, he wanted to create a good one. This one couldn't fail. However, it meant that those involved needed to be very careful. If they got caught, ten Cloud would have their heads for sure. After feeling that he was ready to speak again, he turned his attention to the others and gestured with a hand, "Cid, Vincent, and Yuffie, I want you three to spy on Tifa for a few days when she returns from Junon with Marlene."
That had caught Vincent's attention with no problem. There were some things those other two were bound to notice. It seemed that he would have to let them in on the secret between the lovely lady and the president of that damned company. While Cid was quite trustworthy, he was more than concerned over how Yuffie was going to react. He might have to come up with a convincing explanation for Tifa. He didn't want her to be in any more trouble than necessary. Maybe there was a chance that he could change Cloud's idea a little bit, "I don't think that's a wise idea…"
Of course you would. How could he expect any less? Vincent was the only one in their circle who knew what was going on and he was refusing to talk. That wasn't too unlike him, though. The man knew a lot about Shin-Ra and the other companies that bowed to it. No matter how much information he had, though, he politely declined from sharing. Valentine wasn't the type of person to be straight forward unless it was absolutely necessary. Most of the time, nothing that happened called for such finesse. However, Tifa's actions lately were causing him to break that calm and collected shell that he had been gifted with for so long. Cloud knew this. He could read it, smell it, sense it all over that man. It irritated him. "If you think you've got a better idea, I'd like to hear it. Right about now, perhaps." With that stated, he enfolded his arms over his chest, watching the blood eyes with expectance.
He did have a better idea. He had a much better idea. "That's a violation of her privacy. If you want answers, which probably aren't any of your business anyway, you need to ask her personally. Going with a roundabout scheme is only going to make her angry when she finds out, and you know she'll find out." Tifa was good at things like that. Like she had used her charm to get that interview with Rufus, she could use the same charm to get any information that she wanted. Pushing himself off the wall, he stretched out his prosthetic arm, getting the feeling back into the metallic joints. What a cursed creature he was. What a monster. And how good it would feel to deal Cloud some pain for being so thoughtless. If only Tifa could see him now. What would she think of her best friend? "If you really want us to do this, then…leave it in our hands and we'll report back to you at the end of the estimated time." Vincent sighed in defeat. This was a losing battle on his end. Perhaps just this once it would be okay. And if not…? Well, he could always resort to insisting that it was Cloud's doing (after all, it really was).
What? No fight? The younger blonde-haired man was a little disappointed. It wasn't necessarily that he liked picking fights (although if he had, he would have blamed it on the Jenova cells). He personally thought Vincent was looking for such and had no problem administering it. After all, what were friends for? He wasn't going to start anything, however, because if Tifa heard about it, he'd be the one in trouble and then promptly fall out of her favour (again). Even if he was feeling envious, he wanted to at least salvage his relationship with the pretty female. His gaze looked over Vincent in his rigid stature and then gave a nod, "Very well then. I'll leave it in your hands. You're in charge, Mr. Ex-Turk." It was a title most often given when one annoyed with the red-caped man. And saying that Cloud was annoyed was generally an understatement at this moment.
Yuffie stepped upon the table that Barret and Cid were sitting at and she began to jump up and down. This was not good. She needed to cut the tension and if she had to act silly, she didn't have a single problem with such. Her hands lifted and she arched her figure this way and that, resembling a rather crooked tree branch swaying in the wind…just not as graceful. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! You guys are acting so mean to each other! What would our mommies and daddies say they could see us now! They'd shake their fingers at us and tell us to play nicely with one another!" It was a little more than creepy to see the young girl take upon such a role. Didn't she know she was bound to get herself into trouble by trying to get involved? The only other person who typically dared to do that was Tifa. She was also a good two years older than the ninja and therefore she was deemed as wiser. Yuffie could have stood to take a couple of lessons from the older brunette. Hell, she could have taken lessons from Marlene, who was very much wise beyond her years.
Cid scratched at the stubble on his chin and then lifted a hand to pull Yuffie off the table. The last thing they needed was for her to fall off and break something. There wasn't a doctor in the house at all. The only doctor they knew was Professor Hojo and as far as they were concerned, that man was far from being alive. Even if he had been, however, they knew better than to get involved with him. Still, the idea that it could even be possible was incredibly eerie. Cid didn't want to think about this anymore, so when Yuffie toppled off the table, he leaned over to catch her. Helping her regain balance, the two sat down again. "So who's the leader of our group going to be? I say either me or Vincent. Yuffie couldn't handle that without getting excited."
Wasn't that the truth. They couldn't leave this in her hands. Cid or Vincent, Cid or Vincent…Cid was sure to get the job done, but he was also more likely to cause a ruckus. On the other hand, Vincent had submitted to Cloud's request. Besides, the ex-SOLDIER was more than certain that Tifa would be safe. The latter was probably the best bet. He reached out a hand and gestured to the vampyre-like one, "You. You can be the leader. I leave the rest of this to you, but whatever happens, don't…get…caught." Of course he was still concerned about getting in trouble.
There was a soft sigh given and Vincent nodded to him. "As you wish, Cloud." This was exactly what he had wanted to hear. He was going to need to tell the others what was going on. That was his first plan and the only one he would come up with at the time. Honesty was the best policy anyway.
Had he said anything other than the affirmative response, he would have grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shaken him back and forth. Sometimes Vincent just didn't know when to accept things. Cloud was more than pleased to find that he was faced with little fight. He looked around after heading to the stairs, "As for the rest of you, do as you wish. This discussion is over." He was a bit disappointed that he hadn't learned anything of particular use. He had a plan, though, and that was better than absolutely nothing. Without waiting for a response, he left the others in silence, excusing himself to Tifa's room. Perhaps he would be able to find something there.
Vincent waited until he was completely out of hearing range before he spoke, "Okay. The rest of us need to talk." He was in desperate need of the floor. He didn't even care that Barret was still there. As far as he knew, everyone present at that moment, needed to hear what was going on. "Tifa is working for Shin-Ra. This we are all aware of. What she failed to mention was that the period of time she started work began following her interview with President Shinra."
He got exactly what he was expecting: blank expressions that were trying to see Vincent's point in all of this. Typically this meant they were paying attention, but the red-caped man had uncertainties about revealing all. Forcing himself to speak, he had difficulty maintaining a calm tone to his voice, "President Shinra used Tifa as a means of keeping an eye on our actions. The day Reno and Rude approached us from the Turks and took Marlene, they were well aware that Tifa was supporting both former Avalanche members and the Shin-Ra company. The threat thrown our way was idle seeing how Shinra needed Tifa. Shortly after the official title of secretary was given, I cornered Tifa and she explained about half of what I just told the rest of you." Enfolding his arms over his chest, he took a few moments to let that all sink in. He didn't want to cause any coronaries (if and when Cloud found out…that was something else entirely). He knew there would be questions and angry faces. He wanted to avoid that.
When he felt the time was appropriate, "There are some odd twists to this situation. While Tifa is trying desperately hard to protect us, President Shinra is unaware that I was given this information. Of course, due to some…odd things I encountered, he may not be as gullible anymore. There is an annual masquerade banquet that is held for Shin-Ra. Tifa was invited as well as Marlene. Knowing this, I allowed her to go, but attended later due to Cloud's overwhelming concern. To add to this…rather odd tale so far, it seems that Tifa and Rufus Shinra have a fondness for each other." That seemed to be the part he was most worried about. How would everyone react to that? He, himself, was more than angry when he'd found the two together at the fundraiser. The masquerade banquet had just amplified that anger and ran the voltage like mad. If Cloud found out, Vincent's own anger would have been as nothing. He looked to each of the other three, examining their faces carefully to see if he could get any sort of explanation. While it seemed Cid and Yuffie were a little confused still, he thought he could see the veins popping out all over Barret. That was to be expected, though.
Fortunately before he got a chance to say anything, however, Yuffie was the first to speak up. For once it seemed everyone was relieved she was saying something. She was often good at trying to make light of the situation, and they were relying upon that at the moment. "Well, uhm, in all fairness. President Rufus Shinra is pretty hot. The last time I saw him I thought he was pretty handsome. Maybe Tifa's just a little shallow? I don't really know what else she would see in such a man." She gave the smallest shrug of her shoulders. So it seemed all of the other information had slipped her mind. At least…it had seemed that way. Her eyebrows knit together and her lips turned down into a frown, "That can't work, though! That man tried to take over the world! He forced everyone out of Wutai just so he could check and see if there was an energy source in the mountain pass! After everything he's done, how could she just forgive him! I don't approve of this at all!" It seemed that this was the first time she was actually making sense and not being completely air-headed about the situation.
She couldn't be blamed for having such a reaction. That was one thing Vincent couldn't explain. He didn't know what Tifa saw in the blonde-haired megalomaniac…and he wasn't sure he even wanted to find out. Women were complicated. Lucrecia had been complicated and that had hurt when he tried to understand her. He never wanted to set himself up for that kind of pain again. If he wasn't careful, Tifa might end up doing the same thing. If that was the case, he needed to do his best and tear her away from him. He looked towards Cid again, who merely shook his head. He was the other to have had the pleasure of knowing Rufus's company. Maybe he understood better then…? Vincent didn't think that was likely. Whatever the case, he wasn't getting much of a response. Even Barret merely looked defeated by the whole purpose. He gave the smallest sigh and then shrugged his shoulders vaguely, "One last thing. We can't say anything to Cloud."
