2
Plague or cholera?
The father or the Turk?
Yuffie groaned inside. "I'm not playing that game, Turkey."
"Maybe not, but your father is of a different opinion. Three men are waiting at your house. They have a car and a plane. And you will go straight into their trap."
"And why would I trust you?"
"Why would I lie?"
He sounded so damn reasonable, and she hated him for it! It'd been years since she'd lived in Wutai. She'd barely had any contact with her father for seven blissful years. So why decide to marry her off now?
And why would Godo's plans make Tseng Yakaoma seek her up?
'It's either business or money, and I don't give a crap about either one!'
"You've got other reasons than to help me out," she stated, and glanced towards the partying people inside the flat. Tseng of the Turks was one powerful man, and it was because of him that the team owner had asked her to show up.
"Yes."
"You wanted me to come here tonight, didn't you?"
"You're the reason I am here, yes." He offered her his arm. "Now, shall we deal with the situation?"
The dim moonlight played over his face, and Yuffie suddenly felt like she was sixteen again. Sixteen, and hopelessly in love with a man ten years her senior, who came from a totally different world than hers.
"Situation?" she repeated with a questionable face.
"The men in your house…"
Tseng's car awaited them. The backseat was a complete darkness, the only light was offered by the hundreds of traffic lights that they sped by in a haze.
Yuffie made herself as small as possible on her seat and held on to the door-handle like there was no tomorrow. Tiny, dark spaces always made her skin crawl and she had to strain herself not to have a cold sweat breakout. She really, really didn't like this! Being alone in a car, in the middle of the night, with a man she had hoped to forget, it wasn't even something her obnoxious youth had tempted fate with before the– …Never mind.
'Nothing's gonna happen, Yuffie. Just getting yourself a ride home…'
She shouldn't have left her car by the arena. If she'd taken her car, she would have felt safe, and not so motion sick… She wouldn't be seated so close to a man she didn't know anymore.
She'd never known him, really. But she'd imagined. Fantasized…
A moment later, Tseng cranked down the car window. "We're close to your block now, right?"
"Yeah," she answered, following the edge of the glass with her fingertip. She loved her little house, loved owning something that was hers, just hers… and the cats'. It belonged to her, and no one could take it away from her!
Tseng slowed down and stopped in front of the house. "Your house."
"Yeah…" Her heart ached. Was this the end of her freedom? Slowly, she turned her head, fixating her gaze with his. "Say it again. Say you didn't come here because Godo told you to."
"I did not come because your father said so."
The derisive tone of his voice didn't escape her. His strength he radiated didn't escape her, either. It was no course strength, but a feeling of absolute power.
'He should have been the ShinRa President...' That position would have suited him fine. If Rufus Shinra would have been killed in any of those assassination attacks everyone talked about, Tseng could have taken his place. He sure had an adequate resource of arrogance and self-confidence.
"But you have talked to him?" Her stubbornness didn't allow her to lower her guard, but damn, it was hard when he looked at her in the distracting way he did!
"No." Thin lines wrinkled the skin at the corners of his eyes. "Your father and I don't really harbour any warm feelings for each other. He had to tolerate me since I work for Rufus, but I've never accepted him. He knows that." Suddenly, his mouth formed into a firm line of determination. "I am here now, because your father wouldn't like it."
His words met with silence, but there was no calm, nor any sense of tranquillity. The air crackled with tension, just like the sky always does before a storm.
Being so close to Tseng made Yuffie's head spin, her whole body sang. With some effort, she pushed the confusing feelings aside and concentrated to keep her anger floating. "You told me to choose."
"Yes."
"You said it's you or them…"
"I did."
"And why's that the only choices I get?"
After a moment's hesitation, Tseng shrugged his shoulders. "No one else would dare to stand up against your father. Who would turn the world upside down to stop this wedding from taking place?"
That wasn't a good enough reason for her. His explanation left something missing, just one tiny detail that no one else cared to admit. Her. "I don't want a man," she snapped. "And I sure as hell don't need one!"
"Want and need are two very different things. You may not want me, Princess Kisaragi, but you need me." A short pause added even more weight to his words. "There are worse things than accepting my protection…"
"Like marrying Don Corneo?" A bitter laugh bubbled inside her, and her face held no trace of the usual cheerfulness. "I think I'll handle this on my own, thank you very much," she continued and reached for the door handle. "Open the door, I'm off!"
All doors unlocked with a click. "And you're aware of the men waiting for you inside?" Tseng asked calmly.
He'd said they were three. Yuffie glanced towards her house, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Her hall-lamp was lit, like always. "I don't see anyone…"
"They hardly put up a Welcome Home-sign, Ae-in."
Ae-in. Love. My love. The Wutaian word was like the caress of warm, soft sand. No one had ever called her Ae-in before…
"I'll remember that." She stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. "Thanks for the ride, Tseng of the Turks!"
His door opened immediately. "You need my help."
"No, but I do need my car. So if you're so obsessed with helping me out, you can make sure it's outside my door by tomorrow morning. It's kinda hard getting to work without it…"
Tseng let out a soft chuckle as he approached Yuffie, not allowing her to back away from him. "Do you really think you'll go to work tomorrow?"
Danger filled his deep voice, a warning Yuffie couldn't ignore. She halted and raised her eyes to meet his. They wore a mask of menace, but she saw more than that.
Knowledge.
Cynicism.
Disbelief.
Despite his custom-made suit and the expensive shoes, Wutai was buried in his very soul. He was more Wutaian than western. But it didn't matter. It didn't matter where he came from, or who he was, he was still a Turk.
He represented all the things that Yuffie didn't understand. She turned her back on him and took a few panicky steps towards the house. As she started to run up the stairs to her porch, she had no time to react when her front door opened and two strong arms wrapped around her lithe form.
She was trapped and darkness surrounded her. The old fear came back, and then, everything grew still.
Helplessly, she turned her head to the driveway and saw Tseng. If someone had helped her then, if someone had interfered. If someone…anyone…
'Oh, shut up, Yuffie! You're not sixteen anymore, you're a grown woman. Fight back!'
Finally, the paralysis of her vocal cord released her from its firm grip and she could yell. This time, she wouldn't fade away. This time, she wouldn't lose herself again.
The fear transformed into a wild rage. She kicked and punched. Her body came to life and fought back. She even landed a few good blows.
"Put me down! I'm not coming with you, you fucking bastard!"
She kept on fighting, but she knew she was outnumbered. The whole situation grew more and more desperate…
The Turk could help her. He'd said he'd help her!
But the he just stood by the side. Watching.
All she could think of was that she didn't want to be forced back to Wutai, and in her moment of despair, she could look past the fact that he was a Turk, that he was Wutaian, that he was a man, and that she hated him with all her heart, because damn it, he was right, and she needed him! "Tseng. Tseng, help me!"
And that was all it took…
"Let her go." His cold rage cut through the dark like a knife and the man holding her stiffened.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but– "
"Release her," Tseng ordered in Wutaian. It was an order and he expected it to be complied.
"But, Sir, we've been sent to take her back."
Tseng moved towards them with the predatory grace of a panther. "You dare lay a hand on my woman?"
"Your woman?" the man holding Yuffie reiterated.
"My woman." The Turk's voice was as ominous as a thunderstorm.
The grip around Yuffie loosened and her feet touched ground again. As soon as she was free, she placed herself by Tseng's side.
Tseng reached out his arm, but he didn't touch her. "Lady Kisaragi stands under my protection."
"But we were sent her to get her." Another man appeared at the door. The third still waited inside. "Lord Kisaragi was very resolute."
"Allow me to be just as definite," the Turk answered with feigned courtesy. "She's mine."
The look of possessiveness he gave Yuffie made a bolt of heat and fear sear through her. "Yuffie Kisaragi is my woman," he added. "She belongs to me."
And like a flick of a wand, the strangers disappeared from her sight. But it was hardly any magic involved, she knew that much. It was authority. And Tseng Yakaoma had far too much of where that came from…
They listened to the men's car roaring off and Yuffie turned to face her saviour. None of them spoke up, but Yuffie could sense the fury burning inside of him.
"So it starts…" he finally muttered.
She wished she'd been too naïve to understand what he'd meant, but she knew. What'd just happened on her porch was huge.
Tseng of the Turks had just challenged her father. Tseng of the Turks had placed himself over her father's authority. And Tseng of the Turks could actually do such a thing, since he was so close to the ShinRa chairman.
Godo would be enraged. Infuriated and humiliated.
Yuffie smacked her head in self-reproach. She'd just denied her father and accepted the protection of Tseng Yakaoma. In the matter of minutes, she'd changed the lives of everyone.
"I've got to call him…"
"He's surely already been informed."
She shook her head. "I should at least try to explain…"
Tseng closed the distance between them with a single step and gazed down at her until she finally looked away.
"He's still my father," she tried to defend herself.
"And what would you achieve by talking to him?"
She couldn't answer him. He cupped his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. "What do you think you can achieve?" he repeated impatiently. "If your father held any interest to your opinion, he would have listened to you long ago."
Loathing the truth in his words, she tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. "Your father planned to use you as a piece in his political game," he added relentlessly, sharpness in his voice. "To him, you're just an asset to bargain with."
Every word stung. "But you're just the same, aren't you, Turkey?" Her low voice slowly transformed into a shout. "You're using me too! All you want is revenge on my father. At least he's man enough to admit it!"
Tseng inhaled sharply at her insult. His touch changed, fingers spread across her cheek, hastily caressing her cheekbone. "You lack a Wutaian woman's good judgement and upbringing," he mumbled while his thumb slowly swept over her chin.
Her skin burned with his touch. "I'm not Wutaian!"
"Yet, I suspect you need a Wutaian husband. Someone to teach you humility and self-control."
Anger flashed across her eyes and she gritted her teeth. "Sorry to disappoint you, Turkey, but some things can't be taught."
"You're wrong, Ae-in. Anything can be taught. All it requires is the right teacher." Obscure feelings darkened his eyes. "And you need a very patient one…"
Heat rushed through her veins with a force that almost knocked her over. Tseng made her feel… He made her feel way too much.
"I don't want a man," She felt wild, desperate… Her feelings for Tseng had been so strong, and then all the bad stuff had happened and Yuffie's world had crumbled around her. "I've never wanted one, either."
"You will, when you meet the right one."
"Mr. Right doesn't exist…"
He stared at her for a long time. "He did. Once…" His voice indicated a secret intimacy between them and Yuffie stiffened her shoulders in denial.
"Never."
"Yes. Many, many years ago."
'He's bluffing! He doesn't know anything about anything!'
His thumb returned to her cheek. "There's always a special man that can turn a girl into a woman…"
She broke free from his grip, away from the imaginary net he spun around them. How the hell did this happen? How could she have let it happen? She fled into her house, away from him and the confusion he caused her, but Tseng was right behind her, and she heard him lock the door with a click. They were alone…
It felt… weird.
Nerves tense, Yuffie held her breath and waited.
"Pack a bag," Tseng ordered. His broad-shouldered, dark presence seemed strangely out of place in her small, brightly coloured house. "We must leave."
Pack. Leave. "I can't leave. I have my work here!"
"You chose me, didn't you?"
His soft question silenced her. Really, what could she say? The whole situation was completely unreasonable, and for once, she couldn't handle it. She could take on any other challenge life threw at her, but this… This was all of the sudden totally out of her league…
Ten minutes later, she did walk out to the hall, packed and ready, and Tseng nodded his approval to her little suitcase. "Good. Let's go."
Yuffie sat in the back seat, as far from Tseng as possible, and stared out the window. No one said anything, but it was obvious the driver knew their destination.
"Where are we going?"
"Nibelheim."
"Nibelheim?"
"That big city across the continent."
Years before, Yuffie had thought she loved Tseng Yakaoma. He'd occupied all her thoughts and dominated her dreams. Now, she couldn't stop scolding herself for wasting so much of her time for his sake. "You're not funny."
"Is there any man who is funny to you?"
When she didn't answer him, he laughed quietly. There was no gentleness in his voice, though. "You're one of those man-haters, aren't you?"
"I didn't know we were of a different race, Turkey."
He laughed again, colder. "It will be interesting protecting you…"
"I've changed my mind."
"Too late. You're in my car. Under my protection."
"Stop the car!"
"And soon, you'll be onboard my plane."
"No, I won't–"
"Yes, Yuffie Kisaragi. You can't stop the course of events you've started. It's begun. We–"
"No! I didn't know what I was doing! I wasn't thinking–"
"You knew it was between me and them, and you chose me."
'Take on another approach, Yuffie, there's got to be some way to reach him!'
"Look. I appreciate your concerns, Turkey, but I'm almost twenty-four years old. I've got a job here in Midgar, and cats, so a trip to Nibelheim is totally out of the question!"
Kalen didn't answer.
The car accelerated on the highway and Yuffie could feel her independence slip through her fingers like sand.
"You're almost as western as I am, Turkey," she reasoned. "You've lived in Nibelheim for, what, fifteen years? You'd really treat a woman from Nibelheim the way you're treating me?"
"Yes, if she gave me a promise."
"I didn't promise you anything!"
"You said my name. You begged for my help, and I took you under my wings."
"I'm a grown woman, Tseng–"
"See? 'Tseng'. You called for me outside your house. You used my first name, just like you did now, 'Help me, Tseng'." The Turk's golden eyes narrowed and his sharp gaze bored into hers. "If you are a grown woman, Yuffie Kisaragi, you shouldn't play the games of a child."
"This isn't a game to me!"
"Good."
Tseng leaned back, as if their discussion was finished, but Yuffie had more to say…
"I have grown up," she exclaimed. "I don't need to be taken care of by a man."
That made him react. "'By a man'," he repeated lowly. "What happened that made you throw away your faith in the male species, Ms. Kisaragi?"
She forced herself to look him in the eyes. "Nothing happened," she replied shortly.
"Interesting."
Tseng's firm lips quirked slightly. His mouth was sensual and when it broke out into a smile, it was as if he knew all the secrets of seducing a woman…
"Surprisingly, there are good men in this world, too," he added.
The smile scared her in a sense. Tseng had just faced up to her father, and now, he challenged her.
He was the type of man who enjoyed power and control, and the mile-wide difference between them worried her.
It didn't matter that he lived in Nibelheim, or that he dressed himself in expensive clothes. He was still a Wutaian man. And not just any Wutaian man, but one of the world's richest and influential, too…
"I'm just trying to be practical, Turkey."
"Practical?"
"I have to show my father my independence, and that I won't marry someone just because he wants me to."
"Your father doesn't care about that."
"Neither do you!"
Her sudden outburst made Tseng snicker. "So much fire, Ae-in, so much defiance… But unlike Godo, I could learn to like it..."