I've changed where I was going with this, so the title's been adjusted.
Titleless didn't seem to fit anymore.
Chapter 3 - This is such a bad fucking idea.
"Midgar. They've gone to Midgar." Cloud answered Yuffie's question with no irritation. He had been skeptical when he first heard too. His friend's voice came back low, as if she didn't want to hear an answer to her question.
"Why...why did they go to Midgar?" Cloud took a quick breath before speaking again.
"They've gone to Hojo's lab. To get some kind of notes. Something about mako reconstruction I think he said."
"Who's 'he'?" The ninja sounded confused. Cloud hadn't had an opportunity to explain the mysterious phone call he had received that morning.
"Tifa and I were talking this morning when the phone rang. It turns out it was someone from Alexander Power Company. He said that the Turks had been hired to go to Hojo's old labs in Midgar and retrieve some information and that they would be leaving soon. He didn't know who the employer is for sure though." Cloud paused for any questions.
"Why would he call you?"
"He said I was the fastest way to contact Reeve without a lot of background questions. Apparently, he's suspicious of it being somebody from A.E.C. and didn't want his identity to be known. He thought that Reeve would ask a lot a questions to validate his story. I thought it was pretty questionable when he told me. That's why I decided to call you, to see if you could talk to the Turks and see what was going on."
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. They don't tell me where they go, or what they do. All I know is that they left here about an hour ago. Do you think we should trust this anonymous caller?"
"I'm not sure. I'm going to call Reeve once I get off the phone with you. If he can't do anything himself. Well, I guess we'll have to get the team together to go check it out."
"We would really need to go?"
"I'm hesitant too, but if the call was true, then we can't let that information go to anyone. If it wasn't, then we've done nothing more than waste a little time, right?" Yuffie was nodding to herself on the other end of the line.
"I guess you're right. I still don't like it though."
"Neither do I, but I'd better get ahold of Reeve. I'll call back once I know a little more about our course of action."
"Thanks, Cloud. Bye. Oh, and tell Tifa I say 'hi.'" Cloud smiled at the addition.
"I will. Talk to you soon." The line went dead and Cloud turned to fill Tifa in on the situation. "The Turks are apparently already gone, but they didn't tell her where they were going. Oh, she says hi too. Right now, I'm going to call Reeve about it." Tifa nodded to him.
"And what if he can't do anything?" Cloud gave a grim look.
"Then I guess its back to Midgar."
____________________________________________________________________________ _
Yuffie placed the PHS back down onto her dresser with a touch of concern. She knew that the Turks wouldn't do anything to spread Hojo's work. They knew the repercussions that could have, didn't they? Doubt gripped her mind as she thought to herself. 'It would take a lot of money to send anyone into Midgar, especially the Turks. But for a lot of money, they'd do anything wouldn't they?" The ninja grimaced before a determined look settled in her eyes and she thought quickly. 'To get to Midgar, the only route is basically through Kalm. And out of Wutai, the easiest way there is on the ferry.' A smile broke out over her young features before she bolted for the door.
"Oh Man, is Reno gonna be pissed."
____________________________________________________________________________ __
Reeve had been reviewing proposals for a new power grid in Junon's industrial sector when his secretary opened the door. Smiling gently and politely placing the papers away, he waited for her to speak.
"Mr. Reeve?" The president shook his head. He had tried to convince her to drop that Mr. in front of his name, but the poor girl just couldn't seem to get past her manners.
"What can I do for you Andrea?"
"There's a Mr. Cloud Strife on line 2, sir." Reeve's smile broadened immensely.
"Wonderful. I'll get it in here. Thank you Andrea." The girl bowed slightly as she closed the door.
"You're welcome, sir." Reeve again shook his head at the girl's formality and picked up the phone beside him.
"Cloud? How's it going?"
"I'm pretty good, I suppose. But, we have a bit of a problem." Cloud waited a moment.
"Go ahead." Reeve sounded hesitant to ask. Cloud explained the situation to him.
"I don't suppose there's anything you can do?" The blonde asked hopefully. On the other side, one of the most powerful men in the world set his mouth in a tight line and shook his head.
"Sorry, Cloud, there's not much that is possible right now. We always have one or two teams stationed around the outskirts of Midgar, but just enough to handle the few mako monsters that might be heading towards Kalm. The Turks would slip by them with ease."
"Can you send one of the teams in to investigate the old Shin-ra building? That's bound to be where they're heading."
"I want to help you guys out, but my men just aren't prepared or equipped to handle that kind of scenario. There's still too much monster activity for me to send my people in there with a clear conscience..." Reeve trailed off in something akin to disappointment at not being able to help. "Sorry Cloud."
"Don't worry, I understand. I would probably make the same decision if I were in your position. Looks like it's up to us to figure this out ourselves."
"Well..." Reeve started hopefully. "If you'd like I can certainly arrange transportation for you guys into the Shin-ra building."
"You can get us there?" Cloud asked skeptically.
"I can put you on the doorstep. Just because I don't like sending employees there, doesn't mean it's completely inaccessible. But don't you think this is just a little dangerous for just you and Tifa. I don't mean just the monsters, because I know you can handle them easily. I'm more concerned about the Turks. If you get there and they decided they didn't want to be friendly. Well, you two would probably be in a fair amount of trouble." Cloud paused before answering.
"I had thought about that too. How many transportation ports does Shin-ra have around the world?" Reeve was puzzled by the question, but reacted immediately with an answer.
"We have at least one helipad everywhere except Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga. Why?"
"I think I'm going to need to get the team together again, but there isn't time for Cid to fly around collecting everyone. If we could get everyone to a central location, that would be best." Reeve started to understand what Cloud was getting at.
"I doubt it would be much of a problem for my pilots to pick up and drop off anyone within their vicinity, but what about Red? Cosmo Canyon doesn't have a helipad remember? And I don't think a trip from Wu-tai could be made in time to get Yuffie. The helicopters aren't suitable for cross- ocean travel, at least without stopping to fuel up on one of our ocean tankers. Provided one is available." Reeve sounded like the entire plan needed to be remade, but Cloud didn't seem set back at all.
"I think the best place for everyone to gather is Nibleheim." The town was spoken of with a reservation that Reeve thought was quite apparent. "It provides a central location, is equipped with a Shin-ra helipad, and is close enough for Red to get to without much trouble. With Vincent already there, and Cid in the Highwind, the only one reliant on a helicopter is Barret. Once the Highwind gets loaded up, Cid can fly to Wu- tai, grab Yuffie, and keep going that way till he reaches Kalm." Cloud seemed proud of himself at this feat of planning. "Of course, I still have to get in touch with everyone."
"I'll bet you won't have much trouble convincing them to come. Unfortunately though, Cait Sith can't join you. I'm simply too busy to control that cat nowadays. Sorry again."
"It's ok. We should be able to get by without him. But you can make the travel arrangements we need?"
"No problem at all. I'll simply have a helicopter with Barret on it dispatched from Corel to Nibleheim within the next few hours. If everything goes right, you should have the team assembled in Kalm by tonight."
"That's what I was hoping. All right, thanks alot Reeve. I have to go make a couple phone calls. Take care of yourself, Mr. President." Reeve laughed at the title.
"You too, Cloud."
______________________________________________________________
"Talk to me." The gruff answer echoed through the PHS' receiver and into the other line.
"Cid, is that you?"
"Strife? How's it goin little man? The fuck do you want?" Cloud shook his head at his friend's typical quick rant.
"It's pretty good I suppose..." He trailed off, before picking back up in a childish tone. "Whatcha doin' for the next coupla days?" Cid took the phone away from his ear and looked at it incredulously, before crushing his cigarette out into the ashtray beside him. He placed it back to his ear before speaking carefully
"No, seriously, What the fuck do you want?"
"Well, there's been a couple complications that have come to my attention."
"Shit, boy don't start talkin like Nananaki or whatever the fuck his name is on me here. One Red is enough." Cloud ignored the interruption.
"We think the Turks are heading to Midgar to get something from Hojo's labs." Cloud held the phone away from his ear and braced himself.
"That's a fucking joke right? Your idea of some stupid, piece of shit, lame ass mother fucking joke, right!?" Cloud broke in to silence the older man before he could keep going.
"I know, I know. But it could just be a rumor. And if it isn't, we need to be there to stop them. So we need you to" This time Cid was the one to cut Cloud off, much calmer than he had been seconds before.
"To grab the team in the Highwind, yeah, I assumed so much. But I don't have time to get everyone?" He stated the last part as a question, enticing his former leader to give him the solution to the apparent problem.
"Don't worry, I've got it under control. All you have to do is get to Nibleheim to pick up Red, Barret and Vincent. Hopefully, he'll still be in the mansion. I'll try his PHS and let him know you're coming."
"I don't think that would do much good, Spike. Vampy left it here."
"Dammit. All right, you'll probably have to look for him then. After you get who you can, I need you to grab Yuffie from Wutai before coming here to Kalm."
"What about getting into Midgar. We can't land there."
"I know, but Reeve said he'd provide us transportation right to the Shin-ra building. At the pace we're going, we might even beat the Turks there.
___________________________________________________________________
Reno felt the breeze whip through his hair, pushing the long bangs in front of his eyes. With a casual swipe they were gone for a while longer. His hands gripped the railing of the boat as the water splashed lightly onto his face. He allowed himself a rare smile of peace as he closed his eyes and took in the smell of the salt-water and the sound of the waves crashing against the vessel. Growing up in Midgar, Reno never saw the ocean. 'Hell, I barely ever saw the sun. Even after becoming a Turk, it was rare for our transportation to not be in the air. Guess I never realized how much I enjoyed boats.' Reno decided that it was indeed a rare moment in his life when he was so content. 'Plus, just look at how easy it would be to get rid of a body offa this thing.' The Turk smirked at his uncanny ability to ruin any deep or meaningful moment for anyone. Including himself. This thought kept his mind so preoccupied that he almost didn't notice the small hand that snaked into his back pocket expertly and removed his wallet. Almost. Deciding to play with the foolish thief, Reno spoke without giving any acknowledgment that the crime had occurred.
"Nice try, but you'll have" His great plan was cut short as his knee was kicked out from behind and he collapsed onto the deck. The thief decided against pressing the attack and was already dashing away as Reno climbed to his feet and took off in pursuit. 'Guess they don't get surprised easy. Course, I think when I jam my EMR down their throat, there should be more than enough surprise to make up for it.'
Reno was moving quickly across the deck when the figure he followed ducked down into the lower decks that contained a restaurant and lounge that was occupied by the majority of the ferry's passengers. Realizing that the thief was considerably smaller than him, and thus would have a much easier time navigating the crowded room Reno wracked his brain for a 'Plan B.' Again the smirk came back to him. 'Well, it's always gotten people coming after me before. If anything, the irony alone is worth it.'
"STOP, THEIF!" Reno's voice rang out over the din of the crowd and he swore he saw his prey stiffen slightly in surprise as many eyes went from Reno to the person he was obviously chasing. 'Yes, score one for the good guys' The red head mentally congratulated himself. 'And here comes point number two'
Reno watched his target turn back to see just where they were in relation to their pursuer and didn't notice the giant mound of muscle that could possibly pass for a man step out in front of them. Reno smiled, waved, then when he was certain he had captured the thief's attention long enough, pointed behind them. The mysterious figure plowed right into the chest of Rude, and hit the ground hard.
"You mother fucking asshole. Watch where you're going, dick." Rude did not respond to the verbal assault, but Reno sure did. The smirk of amusement that had been slapped on his face was fading quickly as his confident saunter increased to a jog, anger and disbelief quickly replacing it. His ramblings of fury grew louder as he approached the two.
"No. No you've gotta be kidding me. I'll kill her. I swear, if it's her. I'll kill her." The irate Turk reached his partner, who had already removed the thief's comically large hat. Reno didn't even look down. "Please tell me it's not her, man." The small voice on the ground spoke up.
"Uh. Hi?" Reno breathed slowly, still staring into his friend's sunglasses, as the color drained from his face. Then his shoulders slumped as he reached a calm, open hand out. Taking the hand with slight apprehension, the grounded person began using Reno for support to get to their feet. The hand quickly let go, and the thief found themselves on the ground again.
"I don't wanna help you up, you fucking bimbo. I want my wallet back. And to know what the hell you're doing here Yuffie." Yuffie looked up sheepishly before handing the wallet to the open hand that had once more revealed itself to her.
"Oh. That. I, uh." She stopped. "Just couldn't wait to see you again?" Reno looked down at her and rolled his eyes.
"Nice try. But you're not gonna bullshit you're way out of this one, Yuff." He helped her to her feet as Rude grabbed a fourth chair for their table. "Now, seriously. What do you want?"
Yuffie turned her eyes down to the table in front of her. 'If I tell them that I wanted to follow them and make sure they weren't actually taking Hojo's notes, Reno would probably throw me off the ship. Or have Rude do it.' She deduced that the simplest answer would probably work the best in this situation. "You know how I always bitch and moan about wanting to come with you guys on a mission?" Reno nodded fervently and Rude even lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I figured you weren't gonna stop me this time."
"Now hold on a second. You can't just assume we're going to let you come with just cause you showed up here. This is Turk business. And you're not a Turk." Reno pointed at her. Yuffie stood up
"Whatever. You can't stop me. I'm getting something to eat." She turned away only to have her upper arm grasped by a now standing Reno. She hadn't even heard him get to his feet. The Turk pulled the Ninja in close.
"Yuffie, this is not somewhere you are going to want to be." He whispered harshly, the grip on her arm not loosening. "This is not somewhere I want you to be." With that he let her go, and while Yuffie stood there with a look of mild shock registering in her face, took his seat again. The girl walked off, casting the occasional glance over her shoulder.
"She might be some help." At that Reno looked up in surprise.
"You're shitting me, right?"
"No." Reno gave his friend another dark look, before something akin to resignation crossed his features.
"This is such a bad fucking idea."
Chapter 3 - This is such a bad fucking idea.
"Midgar. They've gone to Midgar." Cloud answered Yuffie's question with no irritation. He had been skeptical when he first heard too. His friend's voice came back low, as if she didn't want to hear an answer to her question.
"Why...why did they go to Midgar?" Cloud took a quick breath before speaking again.
"They've gone to Hojo's lab. To get some kind of notes. Something about mako reconstruction I think he said."
"Who's 'he'?" The ninja sounded confused. Cloud hadn't had an opportunity to explain the mysterious phone call he had received that morning.
"Tifa and I were talking this morning when the phone rang. It turns out it was someone from Alexander Power Company. He said that the Turks had been hired to go to Hojo's old labs in Midgar and retrieve some information and that they would be leaving soon. He didn't know who the employer is for sure though." Cloud paused for any questions.
"Why would he call you?"
"He said I was the fastest way to contact Reeve without a lot of background questions. Apparently, he's suspicious of it being somebody from A.E.C. and didn't want his identity to be known. He thought that Reeve would ask a lot a questions to validate his story. I thought it was pretty questionable when he told me. That's why I decided to call you, to see if you could talk to the Turks and see what was going on."
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. They don't tell me where they go, or what they do. All I know is that they left here about an hour ago. Do you think we should trust this anonymous caller?"
"I'm not sure. I'm going to call Reeve once I get off the phone with you. If he can't do anything himself. Well, I guess we'll have to get the team together to go check it out."
"We would really need to go?"
"I'm hesitant too, but if the call was true, then we can't let that information go to anyone. If it wasn't, then we've done nothing more than waste a little time, right?" Yuffie was nodding to herself on the other end of the line.
"I guess you're right. I still don't like it though."
"Neither do I, but I'd better get ahold of Reeve. I'll call back once I know a little more about our course of action."
"Thanks, Cloud. Bye. Oh, and tell Tifa I say 'hi.'" Cloud smiled at the addition.
"I will. Talk to you soon." The line went dead and Cloud turned to fill Tifa in on the situation. "The Turks are apparently already gone, but they didn't tell her where they were going. Oh, she says hi too. Right now, I'm going to call Reeve about it." Tifa nodded to him.
"And what if he can't do anything?" Cloud gave a grim look.
"Then I guess its back to Midgar."
____________________________________________________________________________ _
Yuffie placed the PHS back down onto her dresser with a touch of concern. She knew that the Turks wouldn't do anything to spread Hojo's work. They knew the repercussions that could have, didn't they? Doubt gripped her mind as she thought to herself. 'It would take a lot of money to send anyone into Midgar, especially the Turks. But for a lot of money, they'd do anything wouldn't they?" The ninja grimaced before a determined look settled in her eyes and she thought quickly. 'To get to Midgar, the only route is basically through Kalm. And out of Wutai, the easiest way there is on the ferry.' A smile broke out over her young features before she bolted for the door.
"Oh Man, is Reno gonna be pissed."
____________________________________________________________________________ __
Reeve had been reviewing proposals for a new power grid in Junon's industrial sector when his secretary opened the door. Smiling gently and politely placing the papers away, he waited for her to speak.
"Mr. Reeve?" The president shook his head. He had tried to convince her to drop that Mr. in front of his name, but the poor girl just couldn't seem to get past her manners.
"What can I do for you Andrea?"
"There's a Mr. Cloud Strife on line 2, sir." Reeve's smile broadened immensely.
"Wonderful. I'll get it in here. Thank you Andrea." The girl bowed slightly as she closed the door.
"You're welcome, sir." Reeve again shook his head at the girl's formality and picked up the phone beside him.
"Cloud? How's it going?"
"I'm pretty good, I suppose. But, we have a bit of a problem." Cloud waited a moment.
"Go ahead." Reeve sounded hesitant to ask. Cloud explained the situation to him.
"I don't suppose there's anything you can do?" The blonde asked hopefully. On the other side, one of the most powerful men in the world set his mouth in a tight line and shook his head.
"Sorry, Cloud, there's not much that is possible right now. We always have one or two teams stationed around the outskirts of Midgar, but just enough to handle the few mako monsters that might be heading towards Kalm. The Turks would slip by them with ease."
"Can you send one of the teams in to investigate the old Shin-ra building? That's bound to be where they're heading."
"I want to help you guys out, but my men just aren't prepared or equipped to handle that kind of scenario. There's still too much monster activity for me to send my people in there with a clear conscience..." Reeve trailed off in something akin to disappointment at not being able to help. "Sorry Cloud."
"Don't worry, I understand. I would probably make the same decision if I were in your position. Looks like it's up to us to figure this out ourselves."
"Well..." Reeve started hopefully. "If you'd like I can certainly arrange transportation for you guys into the Shin-ra building."
"You can get us there?" Cloud asked skeptically.
"I can put you on the doorstep. Just because I don't like sending employees there, doesn't mean it's completely inaccessible. But don't you think this is just a little dangerous for just you and Tifa. I don't mean just the monsters, because I know you can handle them easily. I'm more concerned about the Turks. If you get there and they decided they didn't want to be friendly. Well, you two would probably be in a fair amount of trouble." Cloud paused before answering.
"I had thought about that too. How many transportation ports does Shin-ra have around the world?" Reeve was puzzled by the question, but reacted immediately with an answer.
"We have at least one helipad everywhere except Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga. Why?"
"I think I'm going to need to get the team together again, but there isn't time for Cid to fly around collecting everyone. If we could get everyone to a central location, that would be best." Reeve started to understand what Cloud was getting at.
"I doubt it would be much of a problem for my pilots to pick up and drop off anyone within their vicinity, but what about Red? Cosmo Canyon doesn't have a helipad remember? And I don't think a trip from Wu-tai could be made in time to get Yuffie. The helicopters aren't suitable for cross- ocean travel, at least without stopping to fuel up on one of our ocean tankers. Provided one is available." Reeve sounded like the entire plan needed to be remade, but Cloud didn't seem set back at all.
"I think the best place for everyone to gather is Nibleheim." The town was spoken of with a reservation that Reeve thought was quite apparent. "It provides a central location, is equipped with a Shin-ra helipad, and is close enough for Red to get to without much trouble. With Vincent already there, and Cid in the Highwind, the only one reliant on a helicopter is Barret. Once the Highwind gets loaded up, Cid can fly to Wu- tai, grab Yuffie, and keep going that way till he reaches Kalm." Cloud seemed proud of himself at this feat of planning. "Of course, I still have to get in touch with everyone."
"I'll bet you won't have much trouble convincing them to come. Unfortunately though, Cait Sith can't join you. I'm simply too busy to control that cat nowadays. Sorry again."
"It's ok. We should be able to get by without him. But you can make the travel arrangements we need?"
"No problem at all. I'll simply have a helicopter with Barret on it dispatched from Corel to Nibleheim within the next few hours. If everything goes right, you should have the team assembled in Kalm by tonight."
"That's what I was hoping. All right, thanks alot Reeve. I have to go make a couple phone calls. Take care of yourself, Mr. President." Reeve laughed at the title.
"You too, Cloud."
______________________________________________________________
"Talk to me." The gruff answer echoed through the PHS' receiver and into the other line.
"Cid, is that you?"
"Strife? How's it goin little man? The fuck do you want?" Cloud shook his head at his friend's typical quick rant.
"It's pretty good I suppose..." He trailed off, before picking back up in a childish tone. "Whatcha doin' for the next coupla days?" Cid took the phone away from his ear and looked at it incredulously, before crushing his cigarette out into the ashtray beside him. He placed it back to his ear before speaking carefully
"No, seriously, What the fuck do you want?"
"Well, there's been a couple complications that have come to my attention."
"Shit, boy don't start talkin like Nananaki or whatever the fuck his name is on me here. One Red is enough." Cloud ignored the interruption.
"We think the Turks are heading to Midgar to get something from Hojo's labs." Cloud held the phone away from his ear and braced himself.
"That's a fucking joke right? Your idea of some stupid, piece of shit, lame ass mother fucking joke, right!?" Cloud broke in to silence the older man before he could keep going.
"I know, I know. But it could just be a rumor. And if it isn't, we need to be there to stop them. So we need you to" This time Cid was the one to cut Cloud off, much calmer than he had been seconds before.
"To grab the team in the Highwind, yeah, I assumed so much. But I don't have time to get everyone?" He stated the last part as a question, enticing his former leader to give him the solution to the apparent problem.
"Don't worry, I've got it under control. All you have to do is get to Nibleheim to pick up Red, Barret and Vincent. Hopefully, he'll still be in the mansion. I'll try his PHS and let him know you're coming."
"I don't think that would do much good, Spike. Vampy left it here."
"Dammit. All right, you'll probably have to look for him then. After you get who you can, I need you to grab Yuffie from Wutai before coming here to Kalm."
"What about getting into Midgar. We can't land there."
"I know, but Reeve said he'd provide us transportation right to the Shin-ra building. At the pace we're going, we might even beat the Turks there.
___________________________________________________________________
Reno felt the breeze whip through his hair, pushing the long bangs in front of his eyes. With a casual swipe they were gone for a while longer. His hands gripped the railing of the boat as the water splashed lightly onto his face. He allowed himself a rare smile of peace as he closed his eyes and took in the smell of the salt-water and the sound of the waves crashing against the vessel. Growing up in Midgar, Reno never saw the ocean. 'Hell, I barely ever saw the sun. Even after becoming a Turk, it was rare for our transportation to not be in the air. Guess I never realized how much I enjoyed boats.' Reno decided that it was indeed a rare moment in his life when he was so content. 'Plus, just look at how easy it would be to get rid of a body offa this thing.' The Turk smirked at his uncanny ability to ruin any deep or meaningful moment for anyone. Including himself. This thought kept his mind so preoccupied that he almost didn't notice the small hand that snaked into his back pocket expertly and removed his wallet. Almost. Deciding to play with the foolish thief, Reno spoke without giving any acknowledgment that the crime had occurred.
"Nice try, but you'll have" His great plan was cut short as his knee was kicked out from behind and he collapsed onto the deck. The thief decided against pressing the attack and was already dashing away as Reno climbed to his feet and took off in pursuit. 'Guess they don't get surprised easy. Course, I think when I jam my EMR down their throat, there should be more than enough surprise to make up for it.'
Reno was moving quickly across the deck when the figure he followed ducked down into the lower decks that contained a restaurant and lounge that was occupied by the majority of the ferry's passengers. Realizing that the thief was considerably smaller than him, and thus would have a much easier time navigating the crowded room Reno wracked his brain for a 'Plan B.' Again the smirk came back to him. 'Well, it's always gotten people coming after me before. If anything, the irony alone is worth it.'
"STOP, THEIF!" Reno's voice rang out over the din of the crowd and he swore he saw his prey stiffen slightly in surprise as many eyes went from Reno to the person he was obviously chasing. 'Yes, score one for the good guys' The red head mentally congratulated himself. 'And here comes point number two'
Reno watched his target turn back to see just where they were in relation to their pursuer and didn't notice the giant mound of muscle that could possibly pass for a man step out in front of them. Reno smiled, waved, then when he was certain he had captured the thief's attention long enough, pointed behind them. The mysterious figure plowed right into the chest of Rude, and hit the ground hard.
"You mother fucking asshole. Watch where you're going, dick." Rude did not respond to the verbal assault, but Reno sure did. The smirk of amusement that had been slapped on his face was fading quickly as his confident saunter increased to a jog, anger and disbelief quickly replacing it. His ramblings of fury grew louder as he approached the two.
"No. No you've gotta be kidding me. I'll kill her. I swear, if it's her. I'll kill her." The irate Turk reached his partner, who had already removed the thief's comically large hat. Reno didn't even look down. "Please tell me it's not her, man." The small voice on the ground spoke up.
"Uh. Hi?" Reno breathed slowly, still staring into his friend's sunglasses, as the color drained from his face. Then his shoulders slumped as he reached a calm, open hand out. Taking the hand with slight apprehension, the grounded person began using Reno for support to get to their feet. The hand quickly let go, and the thief found themselves on the ground again.
"I don't wanna help you up, you fucking bimbo. I want my wallet back. And to know what the hell you're doing here Yuffie." Yuffie looked up sheepishly before handing the wallet to the open hand that had once more revealed itself to her.
"Oh. That. I, uh." She stopped. "Just couldn't wait to see you again?" Reno looked down at her and rolled his eyes.
"Nice try. But you're not gonna bullshit you're way out of this one, Yuff." He helped her to her feet as Rude grabbed a fourth chair for their table. "Now, seriously. What do you want?"
Yuffie turned her eyes down to the table in front of her. 'If I tell them that I wanted to follow them and make sure they weren't actually taking Hojo's notes, Reno would probably throw me off the ship. Or have Rude do it.' She deduced that the simplest answer would probably work the best in this situation. "You know how I always bitch and moan about wanting to come with you guys on a mission?" Reno nodded fervently and Rude even lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I figured you weren't gonna stop me this time."
"Now hold on a second. You can't just assume we're going to let you come with just cause you showed up here. This is Turk business. And you're not a Turk." Reno pointed at her. Yuffie stood up
"Whatever. You can't stop me. I'm getting something to eat." She turned away only to have her upper arm grasped by a now standing Reno. She hadn't even heard him get to his feet. The Turk pulled the Ninja in close.
"Yuffie, this is not somewhere you are going to want to be." He whispered harshly, the grip on her arm not loosening. "This is not somewhere I want you to be." With that he let her go, and while Yuffie stood there with a look of mild shock registering in her face, took his seat again. The girl walked off, casting the occasional glance over her shoulder.
"She might be some help." At that Reno looked up in surprise.
"You're shitting me, right?"
"No." Reno gave his friend another dark look, before something akin to resignation crossed his features.
"This is such a bad fucking idea."