As soon as I stepped through my home city's gates, I made a beeline for the organization 'office' in Autui. Handing in mission reports, as dull as they are, are considered essential. The mission reports I turn in after every delivery as well as the customer's comments after I have done my job give me credibility. The better I do, the more missions I receive, the more money I make. It's well worth writing the damn things if I get a bonus or a higher pay on the next job.
I dropped off the mission report and headed home, changing into my normal wear – a simple pair of shorts, lace-up boots, and a black hooded vest over my favorite tank top. It felt good to be out of my damp clothing and squishy black boots. I immediately collapsed onto my bed and took a good, long nap. I woke up mid-afternoon (judging by the sun and the bustle of people out in the city streets) and headed out again.
The sun warmed my back as I went outside, and I felt a smile drifted onto my face. It seemed like not that long ago that it was the middle of the night, lightning forking over the sky and the rain drenching me in seconds. Now, with dry shoes and an empty stomach, I started off for the most logical place that my feet would willingly take me – the little town called Viele Bahnen.
It's a tiny excuse for a town. Really. It's located almost exactly halfway between Autui and Bahnen, the next large city in this area for quite a ways. Viele Bahnen was named after Bahnen (well, duh) though it is a much quieter and calmer community. It's only a twenty-minute walk with my pace.
When the cheerful cluster of houses came into view I couldn't help but grin. Viele Bahnen is the very definition of a cozy, traditional small-town village. It's no surprise that Aerith, one of my best friends, decided to live there when she moved from Yemac-Til.
I jogged the rest of the way to Aerith's little cottage, knocking on the door with a few sharp raps. The pathway is swept clean, as always, and the flowers look freshly watered.
"Yuffie?" a voice called from around the house, and not a second later Aerith came into view. She had her gloves on, watering can in one hand and basket of newly-picked flowers in the other. I bounced up to her as I always to, enveloping her in a hug before peeling myself away to help her carry her things.
Readjusting her hair ribbon (I've always been a little rough with hugs) Aerith just laughed, green eyes bright as they always were when I visited her after a mission.
"How was it, then?" she asked, removing her gloves and putting them in the basket along with the flowers. As far as I can remember Aerith has been growing and selling flowers and herbs, constantly tending them as a mother would.
I shrugged, looking impassive to hide the fact my stomach was churning already at the thought of my strange encounter. I had to tell her, of course, but I didn't want to upset her. It's always hard to phrase it correctly so she doesn't worry. I'm sure Cloud has the same problem.
"No injuries, nothing?" she asked again once we were inside. As per usual, she set a teapot on the stove and fetched us teacups. The result of my frequent visits is that she's gotten me completely hooked on jasmine tea. It's bad. If I didn't like it so much I'd probably be a little annoyed with her. It's hard to be annoyed with her, though, especially when she makes such good cake.
"I'm fine," I smiled reassuringly. (Or, rather, what I thought was a reassuring smile.) Aerith looked at me quizzically as if recognizing the odd tone in my voice. She's always been good at detecting lies. Dammit.
"Okay, fine, fine," I caved in, running my hands through my hair as she poured us tea and sat down. I never get away with anything with her around. It's probably a good thing, more-or-less.
"Well, I was heading towards my drop-off in Lasbruck when I was attacked by an assassin-"
"God, Yuffie, are you okay? And you said nothing happened!"
"Err, yeah. I'm fine, really. Well, anyways, I was being chased through the streets to avoid getting hit by the knives when I ran into this guy," Aerith looked up at my when I emphasized the word, gripping my teacup with both hands, "We crashed onto the ground and he helped me up before pushing me in the other direction. I kept running and running, but when I looked back he was fighting off that assassin that was attacking me."
Aerith frowned, "Just any old guy? Are you sure he wasn't one of the hired guards? The wealthy people always hire them to protect their property..."
I shook my head, "I don't know. I couldn't get a good look at him with all the pouring rain. He had the bluest eyes I've ever seen, though."
I took a sip from my teacup, though I could feel Aerith's eyes on me. When I looked at her again she had a concerned look on her face, her eyebrows slanted in worry.
"Did you get a good look at his face, Yuffie?" she asked, green eyes unusually stern. I gulped my mouthful of tea, my back tensing. When Aerith gets serious, she always has a good reason.
"Yeah," I nodded slowly, "Bright blue eyes, dark brown hair – though I suppose it could be lighter, we were both soaked from the rain – and he had this scar running down across the middle of his face and his nose-"
I clamped my jaw shut when Aerith stood, setting her teacup down and pushing the chair back with a loud screech of wood. Definitely not good. An upset Aerith is a scary Aerith. To my surprise she was silent, then she just sighed before placing her empty teacup in the sink. She looked back at me with another small sigh, emerald eyes confused but calm. Something was up.
"Want to take a walk, Yuffie?" Aerith asked, hand already on the doorknob. Of course, with her acting like that I wouldn't dare decline - so I could find out what was bothering her. I just snorted, smiling a bit to hide me concern.
"What kind of question is that?" I said cheerfully, pushing out my chair and downing the last of my tea to join her. I followed behind her quietly as we walked down the front path to the street and down the road, heading west. After minutes of walking in silence I jogged to catch up with her spirited gait – it wasn't like Aerith to hurry. Looking up at her I blinked in confusion.
"Aerith..." I whined, "Where are we going? What's up? It's not like you to freak out at anything like that. I mean, I'm fine! I didn't get hurt or anything!"
"It's just that, Yuffie," the flower girl answered reluctantly, tucking strands of her chocolate-colored hair behind her ear again. At this I pouted but I let her get a few steps ahead of me, brooding on my thoughts.
We were headed down the path for Bahnen, the larger city, though it was quite a ways away. I stared at Aerith's back quizzically. I was tempted to ask her where we were headed, but decided against it. With Aerith in an unpredictable mood, it's hard to tell when she's joking and when she might just bash you over the head with her basket of flowers.
"There!" I heard Aerith say softly, and I walked up to meet her where she had stopped on the side of the road. A familiar blotch of color in the form of a person was walking towards us from the direction of the city, blond hair shining brightly in the sun. The man finally noticed us and quirked his eyebrows, picking up his pace a bit.
"Clooouuuud!" I shouted, bounding towards him. I tackled him a bit more roughly than I had Aerith – being careful to not cut myself on his gigantic sword, of course – before grinning up at him.
"Cloud! Are you on break now? Did you just get off?" I pelted him with questions as he continued walking towards Aerith. I had to skip to keep up with his longer stride. He smiled at me tiredly, not answering anything before we reached the brown-haired woman waiting for him.
Aerith smiled brightly, of course, chuckling as I continued to pester her fiancée.
"You're off for today, I assume?" she asked, turning to walk back towards their house with us. Cloud nodded, adjusting the grip on his sword.
"I'm done for today, and I don't have to go tomorrow. I passed in all my paperwork, too, so I'm set until they assign me somewhere else," he explained, ruffling my hair as I continued to skip along. Y'see, Cloud works for the same freelance organization I do, just in a different branch. Most of the time he's hired as a guard or mercenary, and it doesn't really take him as far away as I go – just far enough away to make Aerith worry. His assignment at Bahnen had been going on for a good two weeks and required he guard some place from midnight to about midday, though it must be done now.
"That's good," Aerith replied, soft smile still on her face.
"I got back from my mission too," I grinned proudly, hands on my hips. Once again the man chuckled, smiling at Aerith and I.
"Really? How was it?"
"Wet," I said bluntly, and I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the thought, "I had to go to Lasbruck and there was a big storm going though. I got attacked by an assassin, but I'm okay. You can ask Aerith, I'm fine. Really. And I met this guy- okay, well, not really met, but-"
"Yuffie," the mercenary said patiently, "Start from the beginning."
After sniffing with mock distain I recounted my tale as I had with Aerith, though since we had more time I was able to get into more detail. Especially how nasty the weather was, and the rude, greedy man I delivered too. Most of all, I looked for Cloud's reaction to when I described the man who defended me.
"Y'know," I said finally, "I thought that he might be a mercenary or something because of his sword, like you are, and I don't know anyone else that would be out in that weather, but I think he was hired."
They were doing it again. The couples-only talk. When through some weird couples-only method of communication they are able to read each other's minds or something. They look at each other, nod, murmur things when they think I'm not paying attention. They probably blink in some sort of Morse code too. Anyways, from the look on Cloud's face, I could tell what I said was bothering him too.
"What is it?" I whined, following them up the path to Aerith's house, but Aerith just dismissed it as 'nothing that is of any importance'. Pah. Like I'll believe that.
As we approached their front door the couple looked back at me expectantly.
"Are you going to be staying for dinner, Yuffie?" Aerith asked with another one of her eerie smiles. (They're not creepy, really, just too nice – like she has another motive.)
"No thanks," I scuffled my feet in the dust of the road as I stood, "I'll be heading back home. I think I'm up for another mission. The weather looks nicer."
"All right," the brown-haired woman just continued to smile, "Stop by if you head out. I can give you some snacks for the road."
I turned on my heel, waving and shouting "Thanks!" over my shoulder as I headed back home. I could tell they wanted to ask me more questions, but Aerith would probably tell Cloud all about what I said about that guy. I wasn't exactly open to another round of prodding anyways. They sure were acting odd.
I picked up a quick meal on the way into town, gobbling it down pretty quickly. I would need energy to make up for my last mission, and if I took another one – well, then I'd need even more to get me wherever I have to go. With that thought it mind I headed back to the dim alleyway to the station of the freelance organization.
The black-cloaked guard looked up at me when I came to the opening of the alley, the metal of their weapon glinting in the falling sunlight. Wow, it was almost sunset already? I must have talked with Aerith longer than I thought. Then again, walking does take some time.
"Osprey, back already?" he said with a slightly raspy voice. I shrugged, heading for the well-concealed door. He tugged it sharply and headed out of my way, allowing me entrance to the lantern-lit inner chambers. The person at the desk looked up at me, though the hood was up as per usual, I could tell that they recognized me.
"Another mission?"
I nodded blankly, getting more and more nervous. Shit, would I be punished for not showing up in uniform! I should have remembered to change before I arrived, but it was too late. The leader stood, heading for the door behind the desk where documents and deliveries are stored. He returned with a bag that jingled, a set of four scrolls, and a plain envelope that sagged in the middle.
"These are in need of transportation to Yemac-Til. They are expected tomorrow morning to the addresses written on this card," a thin slip of paper was placed on the desk, "and while the mercenary that was to be hired for this job is supposed to be here in a few hours, after your most recent successful mission I will give you the option of taking this one."
"I'll do it," I responded without question, my head held high and eyes steeled to not show my nervousness.
"Good. Take them and be on your way once you are in uniform. You may have three days' leave afterwards," he handed the items to me one by one, carefully setting the envelope on top of the scrolls, "Though if you would like to do another mission you would have to receive one from the office in Yemac-Til. That is all."
I scurried out of there as quickly as I could without dropping everything. I'm not one to be scared, but the leaders of this organization have a reputation for being harsh. Out means out. Take a mission and you must do it. Loose a leg? Ooops. Too bad. You're not allowed in anymore.
After changing and placing the items in my pack I ate some of the leftover cookies Aerith had baked for me, sitting on the edge of my bed as I waited for the sun to set completely. When I got to Yemac-Til I'd need to rest up – my nap and the food I scarfed would power me through this mission, but I'd definitely need to rest before heading out again.
Once the stars started appearing I jogged to Aerith's – a slow pace I'd later have to make up with a higher speed – and I arrived in Viele Bahnen with a good time. Yemac-Til was pretty far for a one-night run, and her baking would be needed to make it. Besides, she makes really good chocolate chip cookies.
"Yuffie!" Cloud smiled at me when he opened the door, motioning for me to enter.
"Not right now, sorry," I grinned, "I've got a lot of ground to cover and I'm counting on Aerith's cooking to hold me through."
"Ah, mission?" the blond looked over my uniform with a nod, recognizing it as similar to his own.
Aerith wiggled her way between Cloud and the doorway, handing me a neatly tied package that was still warm.
"Stay safe," she looked at me sternly, as a mother would. I nodded, and she hugged me before allowing me to step out of the lamplight and onto the road again.
"Wait! Yuffie!"
I turned back to find Cloud jogging towards me, an envelope in his hand, "What?"
"Deliver this to the address," he said, panting slightly.
I looked at him dully, "Are you going to pay me for my service?"
He laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "It will pay for itself once you deliver it, I promise!"
I waved, not shouting a goodbye as a precaution, and took my leave. The lights of the small cabin soon disappeared as I ran towards my destination – Yemac-Til.