9 PM, WRO HQ, Reeve's office...
The office had a lot more papers on the desk than the last time Zack visited. Shelke and Kunsel were also present in the office with Reeve. Cait immediately hoped over the piles of paper and landed behind Reeve's chair, jerking the older man from his work.
"Woah! Cait, behave yourself." He called out his robotic cat as calmly as he could before turning his focus to Zack. "Ehm, I'm glad you could make it Zack. I apologize for Cait's actions; I imagine he was quite loud."
"It's fine. But seriously is everything alright here? you guys look swamped." Zack asked concerned. Shelke was sliming through a pile of documents then placing them aside when done, while Kunsel was highlighting some lines on his stack.
"Just business as usual, pay us no mind now before I hand you your assignment for today. I have some good news to share." He gestured for his guest to have a seat at his desk, which Zack did.
"We did a lot of research in the last few days, but we finally found a doctor known for SCI surgeries."
"Seriously? That great! Where are they" Zack excitingly shouted, he can bearly stay seated.
"The good doctor works at New Mideel."
"New Mideel?"
"The old hot spring town was reduced to a Mako lake from the Ultima weapon's attack years ago."
"Ah, gotcha. So I'm guessing the town is on the southeastern island, right?"
"That's the place. Now, since I need you to clear up some monsters in the area, I'll be sending you with Vincent and Cid." Reeve explained as he handed Zack a file of some of the monsters' data provided by the Mideel locals. "these are some that the locals could send us. There are many dangerous ones there too; so be prepared."
Zack accepted the file with a nod before getting up "Will do, just give me a time."
"Cid will call you in a few hours."
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10 PM, 7th Heaven Bar, Bar level...
Cloud had excused himself from bouncer duty for the day around 9 o'clock, leaving the girls to work on their own. Aerith found it odd that Cloud would leave them near rush hour. But she chucked it up to him being very tired from his long delivery trip who wouldn't be tired after two days of deliveries all over Gaia.
"Aerith, We're closing up for the day." The brunette called out to her as she flipped the sign just as the last customer left the bar.
"Hu? Why's that? did something happen?" Aerith spoke out worried, turning off the stove since it was no longer needed. She rolled herself out of the kitchen. She was surprised to see Cloud was there with his Girlfriend; he was covered in dirt and paint for some reason. "Cloud? What happened to you?"
"It's nothing bad, I promise," Cloud replied calmly, exhausted but calm.
Tifa went over to her and rolled her over near the staircase. "We have a special surprise for you. But first, you'll have to close your eyes."
"A-alright." Aerith pulled up her hands and covered her vision. When she did Cloud carefully carried off the Wheelchair and headed up the stairs with Tifa carrying the chair up behind him.
Aerith would hear them heading up ever further than the residential level. But to her knowledge, the upper level was the roof. Why were they heading up there she wondered. Hearing Tifa's low giggle wasn't helping her guess the surprise any better. They soon stopped, and she was placed back in her wheelchair. "So...can I open my eyes now?"
"Yes, you can," Cloud answered, having moved behind her chair in order not to block her view.
Aerith slowly lowered her hands, she gasped with excitement. In front of her was a small and simple garden. The color of the plots made her recall the paint on Cloud. She turned to them with teary eyes and a smile. "When did you guys even start? I never even noticed."
"Cloud and I secretly worked on it when everyone was asleep or while you and Zack were out shopping. We couldn't till Cloud got back." Tifa responded with a satisfied smile, holding on to Cloud's arm.
"You guys, Thank you!" Aerith cheered, hugging the couple out of gratitude. She then immediately went over to look over the empty plots, excited with the idea of gardening again. Her mind swirling with ideas of what she could plant in them.
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10 PM, WRO HQ, Hallway...
Vincent had just exited Reeve's office, holding a file on the Mideel monsters. He was told that he had only an hour to prepare, so he had to work fast to make the deadline in time.
"VINNY!"
He groaned, now really wasn't the time for Yuffie's usual chatter. But he didn't voice his complaint. Vincent simply allowed the hyperactive ninja to catch up to him.
"I heard you got a mission at Mideel, Kind of a boring job isn't it?" Yuffie walked alongside him, trying to strike up a conversation.
"It's still a mission that must be done." He answered, focusing on getting to his apartment to get his stuff ready for the trip.
"Yeah yeah I know. So who's going with?"
"Cid and Zack."
"Really? Why?"
"Zack is helping with the monsters as well as inquire about the local doctor. Cid is just going to give us a ride and join the beast elimination if needed."
"Right. Although you'll be missing out on an interesting mission that I'm handling soon!" She announced proudly, attempting to make him jealous. Though she noticed that he wasn't reacting as she would like. Instead, he was silent.
"Hello? Gaia to Vincent. Did you hear me just now?" She walked in front of him, walking backward.
"Yes, I heard you the first time Yuffie. But I'm on a tight time restraint at the moment."
The ninja pouted and got back to walking beside him. "I know that."
She was upset, and he knows it. And while he knows that he did nothing wrong, Vincent felt like he had to please her somehow. "Look, as soon as I find some free time I'll call you."
"Hump, I don't need your pity. But I'll be waiting, so you better not forget." She poked his arm teasingly.
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11 PM, 7th Heaven Bar, garage...
Zack had just returned from his visit to Reeve. He still was ecstatic about the news he received and just couldn't wait to tell Aerith all about it. Entering the bar, he noticed that no one was around, not the bar residence nor customers.
"No business today? weird." He went over to the kitchen hoping to find either Aerith or Tifa, but it was empty.
"Aerith? Tifa?" he yelled. Eventually, he heard faint chatter above him. So he decided to follow it up the stairs. As he did, the chatter was getting louder.
"Guys?" He called out again, this time he got a response.
"We're on the roof, Zack." It was Cloud.
When He finally got there, he spotted Cloud off to the side leaning on a wall. The blond was reading some papers while Tifa and Aerith were tending to the garden, which he just realized was a new addition to the roof.
"Well, this is new." Zack whistled, apparently impressed by the craftsmanship.
"It was Tifa's idea," Cloud responded, putting down the papers to chat to his friend. "I was just the handyman."
"It still looks great, and Aerith is enjoying it. Thanks for looking out for her."
"It's the least I can do. So what did Reeve give you this time?"
"Oh, man do I have some news for you all to hear!" Zack announced with joy as he coiled one arm around the shorter man's neck and guided him towards the girls.
