Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. I depend on my daughter, Angeal Valentine, and on Bjanik for all my information on the subject.
A/N—This week's chapter is set in Wutai. But for a glimpse two weeks ago, we've not been in Wutai in quite some time. That aggravating Turk, Digital, has been bugging me to demand he get "screen time." I wish he wouldn't do that… Bjanik says Sephiroth bugs her while she's driving, going to the grocery store… Why can't it be Sephiroth who bugs me?
Warning: there's a lemon in this chapter—a violent lemon. You can skip it if you want.
(4-6 pm, Wutai; 2-4 am, Mideel; midnight–2 am, Midgar; 8-10 pm, Gongaga)
Princess Yuffie Kisaragi looked at the young Soldier who had remained in the interrogation room with her. She had heard him called "Akita." Funny, she didn't have the urge to run from him as she had wished to run from Genesis Rhapsodos and the other Soldiers she'd seen, no matter the mako glow in his eyes. He clearly was Wutainese. What was he doing in Soldier, anyway? Could he help her get out of this prison? Yuffie hadn't liked her kunoichi training in "feminine wiles"—she hadn't been terribly good at it; well, okay, she'd been bad at it—but maybe that training would come in handy now.
"Hey? Who are you?"
Near the door, Jens Akita started. He turned toward the handcuffed prisoner sitting at a metal table across the room from him. She'd been completely silent while Col. Griegos and Lt. Col. Wallace had been interrogating her with Jens as the translator. Now she seemed to be interrogating him! He reminded himself that the girl was the heir to the Wutai throne—and his enemy. Moreover, there were hidden cameras in the room. Whatever they said to each other would be recorded and analyzed—even if they did speak in Wutainese. He was on thin ice here and should be careful—along the lines of "name, rank, and serial number."
"Jens Akita."
"Aren't you Wutainese? Why are you a Soldier?" Yuffie was giving him the "puppy-eyes" look that always worked on her father when she wanted something. Yuffie knew that there had been a number of relationships between Wutainese and mainlanders, but these were strictly frowned on in Wutai and the offspring outcasts. The Soldier probably was one of them.
"I'm both." There. That was a good answer—short, sweet, giving nothing away, and strictly correct. Jens was rather proud of it.
Yuffie cocked her head to the side. Dig. Find out more—has to be something useful here somewhere—maybe give a little away on a gamble. "Akita. That's the name of one of my father's commanders. Makoto Akita. I don't suppose you're related to him?"
Jens nodded. It was all in his Soldier records—he'd had to disclose it as part of the Soldier application process. Applicants could have no secrets that could potentially lead to blackmail. Even if he'd tried to hide the relationship, the Turks would have learned of it anyway. He walked around the table and leaned over a corner toward the girl. "Makoto Akita. Yes, I'm related to him. He's my father's younger brother. I know that here in Wutai, it was a scandal. Hajime Akita fell in love with a Shinra nurse who treated him. They had me. The Akitas have been warriors for generations. I don't think I could be anything else—I was born and bread to be a fighter… I've never met my uncle. The Akitas declared my father dead to them. Here in Wutai, they deny my existence. After all, how could a dead man father a child?" Maybe he shouldn't have told her, but he just couldn't quite help himself.
"I'm sorry." Yuffie looked up at the young man glaring down at her. She was suddenly afraid of him; his dark eyes were now glowing green. Surprisingly, she found she did feel sorry for him—he was just a year or two older than her. "It's not fair… I know the Akitas, and you're right. They're terribly old-fashioned, narrow-minded. I'm not surprised at their attitude." She paused. "If you wanted to meet Commander Akita, I could probably arrange it sometime… encourage the Akitas to accept you as part of their family…" She knew that last wasn't likely, but if it helped her cause, she'd say it. She lowered her eyes, trying for a look that implied "intimidated," while she checked out what he was carrying on him that she might acquire. She'd excelled at "pick pocket" training.
"No. I came to Wutai to help my mother watch over my dying father. When Wutai started bombing the base, however, one of the first buildings it hit was the hospital! Both my parents are dead now. I've no interest in meeting my father's family, and I know everything I need to know about their country. Thanks all the same, your highness." That last, Jens said with a sarcastic note. He was still reeling from his parents' deaths. No princess was going to dig into his pain.
Yuffie gasped and looked back at the Soldier. She could tell by the look on his face that she'd intruded—hurt someone whose help she needed. "I'm sorry. I really am!"
Just then the interrogation room door opened. "Mr. Akita."
From behind him, Jens could hear the voice of the lieutenant colonel. He straightened and turned. "Sir?"
"It's time to put Miss Kisaragi back in her cell." Bill Wallace raised an eyebrow. Something had been going on in here. He'd have to question the Third Class shortly.
Jens blanked his face. "Yes, sir."
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Miles away from Shinra's Wutai base, at Tamblin Fortress, Emperor Godo stepped from his limousine, gathered his military-style coat around him, and surveyed his command staff. One of his commanders bowed deeply to him.
"Your imperial majesty, I regret to inform you, your daughter has not yet arrived."
"What?!" Normally a gentle, patient man, Godo raised his fist uncharacteristically and shook it in the man's face. "Where is she?!" If anything had happened to her… The whole rebellion was for her—for the future of Wutai. Without his daughter, there was no reason for any of it!
"Majesty. There is no word. We have people searching the road to the palace. So far there's been no trace of her or her car found."
Godo's face blanched. The road between Tenshin and Tamblin—he traced its route in his mind. Oh no. It ran far too close to the Soldier base for his taste. "Please, Great Leviathan, it can't be…"
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Yuffie walked behind the Soldier officer. Yes, the tall, dark-haired man was the second-in-command as she recalled. He'd be no use; Akita, walking behind her, however, still held possibilities. She stumbled—it wasn't hard. While she was a qualified ninja, she had yet to develop the grace of most kunoichi.
Jens bent to help her, and the girl leaned against him for just an instant.
"Thank you." Yuffie smiled at him. Akita nodded to her. The group continued down the hall.
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Back in her cell, Yuffie kept her face sad, even worried, for the sake of the cameras she was sure were trained on her, even if she wasn't sure where they were. Inside, she felt just a bit of hope. She had managed to palm some kind of materia off Akita. She flopped to her bed on her stomach with a sigh and slid the orb under her pillow—stupid place to hide it, but there weren't many places available in the small room. She surveyed her "domain": metal frame cot, mattress, two blankets, pillow (no pillow case—or sheets, for that matter), metal toilet seat (very cold; the tank was behind the wall), metal sink, a few sheets of toilet paper, and paper towels. Metal bars. Gray concrete walls. Not even a trash can or mirror.
The Soldiers had even taken her engagement ring from her. She had hidden the diamond with its materia orbs in her clothes when she'd realized her situation, but they'd found it anyway. Genesis Rhapsodos wasn't much of an ally in her estimation—he wasn't worth even two orbs of materia.
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"And what did she get, Mr. Akita?" Outside the cell block, Lt. Col. Wallace turned his underling-quelling glare at his subordinate.
Jens smiled slightly. He'd expected her to pick his pocket, and Princess Yuffie hadn't disappointed him. "Just a cure materia—nearly useless to her now."
"Good. She can keep that, no harm." Wallace shook his head. "Digital has requested that he be allowed to question her. You'll need to be there to translate, if the Colonel agrees."
Jens felt his jaw drop slightly. Not that creepy Turk…
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Digital, the gnome Turk, rubbed his hands together in anticipation and followed a guard to the princess' cell. He was very much looking forward to questioning a princess, though in fact Col. Griegos hadn't authorized this. Griegos had said he'd take Digital's interrogation offer into consideration. Well fine. In fact, Digital didn't expect to do much "questioning" at all. That bit of meat—that princess—was just what he needed after his forced confinement on Wutai base; after all, she was an enemy combatant, wasn't she? Fair game as far as Digital could see. Maybe he'd even get some real information out of her. Digital had timed his excursion to the cell block carefully; it was just after 5:00 pm. The recording guys behind the interrogation room's one-way mirror were gone for the day by now, so the interrogation room was the perfect spot for him to do some "questioning"; the guards, however, watching via the cameras in the girl's cell would be there around the clock—no good "interrogating" her in her cell. Arriving at her cell, Digital could see that the girl was lying on her stomach on her cot, possibly asleep, with her head turned toward the wall and away from the cell bars.
"Come on, your highness, time for more questioning." The words were said in Wutainese—poor Wutainese to Yuffie's ear. The guard's keys rattled in the mechanical lock. An electronic lock above it was already open.
Yuffie turned her head at the sound. She wasn't sure why they had double locked her in the cell then had turned around and were apparently questioning her again so soon, but she had no intention of telling anyone in Shinra anything. She stood up slowly, careful to seem "helpless," then took two steps forward. A short, ugly man in a rumpled, blue suit pushed her from behind hard in the back as she passed through the doorway, and Yuffie fell face-first on the hallway floor. She whirled to her feet with a growl and a glare at the little man, but her hands were still cuffed and the guard was waving a sword in her direction.
The little man smirked. "Move it." Digital pushed Yuffie in the shoulder again down the hall and watched the teenager struggle to keep her feet as she scraped her back along the concrete wall. This was going to be fun.
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Jens stood at the door of the "cafeteria" looking across the early diners. The room had once been a large store room. Now makeshift "tables" (really just doors held up on boxes, and sometimes just boxes by themselves) stood around the room, and regular army, civilian employees, and a few Soldiers ate even more makeshift meals wherever they could find a clear spot. The above-ground base cafeteria had disappeared long since. There was an air of expectancy about the big room tonight. Probably everyone thought the war would be over soon, what with the capture of the emperor and his daughter. Jens didn't want to be the one to tell them they were only half right.
"Hey, Jens! So what'd you make of the princess?" Jerry Aman, one of Jens' trainee classmates and fellow Third Class Soldiers, hailed him from across the room. Jerry was blond and taller than Jens; he was also a crack shot and had been on the raid on the palace. "You were with her all afternoon…"
Jens didn't respond, looked down, and studied the floor as he shuffled his feet toward the food line.
"Jens!" Jerry stopped beside Jens and waved a hand before Jens' face. "Gaia to Jens! Come in Jens!"
A corner of Jens' mouth crooked as he looked at his friend. "Sorry." He continued to shuffle, however. He was still running the lieutenant colonel's words over in his mind. "Digital has requested that he be allowed to question her." If there was one thing Jens had learned on the raid, it was that Digital was a creep. Some guys who were creepy were also funny. Not Digital. Jens might not like the princess, but he actively disliked the Turk. Heck, even the Turk's own partner had bloodied Digital's nose when they were in the Tenshin caves!
"He-ey!" Jerry had stopped right in front of Jens forcing him to halt or plow over him on his way to the food. "I asked a question. You don't have to ignore me."
"Sorry." Jens had finally stopped in his headlong shuffle. "It's just that that damn Digital may get to question her."
Jerry shook his head. He sympathized with Jens. He hadn't liked Digital any more than Jens had. While Digital seemed good at his job—indeed, had been a contributor to the success of the mission—he rubbed everyone the wrong way. Half the time Jerry had hated the way Digital looked at him—like he could feel Digital's hands on his body. Weird. "So you'll have to translate? That'll be tomorrow?"
"I guess." Jens picked up a tray from a pile on a box and waited for his sandwich and Tessa bar. Food supplies were beginning to be thin. At least they still had Tessa bars—all the fresh foods were gone. Only mako-processed crap would be left soon. Nuts. Instead of bread, they were having dried meat between hard crackers tonight! And orange Tessa bars…
"So then, where's Digital now?" Jerry was scanning the room. The Turks usually ate early, too. Only Analog was in the room—surrounded by Second Classes. Across the room Jerry could see Col. Griegos and Lt. Col. Wallace eating together at an officers' "table." Every once in a while Jerry was sure Col. Griegos looked over at the red-head, and she smiled back. There was no male Turk in sight.
"What?" Jens started. "What did you say?" Jens' head jerked up. Jerry was right. Usually Digital sat glowering at the Soldiers who were impudent enough to try to talk to Analog. It rarely bothered the Soldiers, but nobody else in the room liked his attitude. "You're right. He's not here…"
"You don't suppose he'd interrogate her without a translator present? His Wutainese isn't that great." Jerry put a hand on Jens' arm. "Wouldn't the camera guys be gone by now, too? Think we'd better check what he's up to?"
"Yeah…"
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"You can go now. I'll call when I'm ready for you to put her back in her cell…" Digital dismissed his escort, then turned to the girl seated at the room's metal table. He wondered briefly what Griegos' meant by "Turk interrogation methods." Probably something along the line of wood slivers under the finger nails—not at all what Digital had in mind. He had already checked the room behind the one-way mirror; no one was monitoring the interrogation room's hidden cameras--they were off.
"Now, we'll begin with you telling us where your father is, princess." Digital leaned across the table at Yuffie, purposely breathing in her face.
Yuffie leaned back, crossed her arms, and gave Digital a look that said, "You've heard it before, you idiot—silence, nothing. Get used to it." Digital's Wutainese might not be terribly good, but Yuffie understood him perfectly.
"And what are his plans for the base? When is he going to start the ground assault?" The girl didn't stir.
"Fine. Enough interrogation." Yuffie's eyes jumped to the little man. What could he be up to?
Digital took hold of the back of Yuffie's collar, pulled her out of the chair, and smashed her face into the table. In the process he pinned her manacled wrists beneath her and held her down by the neck. With his other hand Digital pushed the chair out of his way then ran the hand along her side. His hand shaped the side of her breast, bumped her hip bone, then slid to her groin where he poked his fingers hard through her pants. Digital leaned over her and pressed his erection hard between her cheeks. "You should have talked, baby."
The word "bastard" rang through Yuffie's mind. He didn't really believe this was going to make her talk, did he? He'd have a fight on his hands before that happened! Or she'd be dead. The bastard was fumbling with the catches on her slacks. She'd been trained for rape situations—do anything you needed to do to survive! Wait for him to make a mistake… Her clothes were now down around her ankles. Wait! His fingers were jabbing into her with a thumb on her nub. Ouch! Yuffie shook. She wasn't sure whether she was shaking from the pain or from the rage that was building in her. When the bastard leaned back just a bit to loosen his pants, Yuffie felt his hold on her neck slacken just slightly. Now spin without tensing your muscles! Yuffie whirled catching the little man with an elbow to his cheek and a knee to his groin. She slid off the side of the table to the floor and hit it hard. She tried to rise and regain her balance, but the bastard was already on her! The thought flashed through her mind—he'd probably been hit in the groin a few times.
Digital grabbed Yuffie by the throat and with a rush held her to the floor. He lay on top of her breathing in her face. "You want the floor, baby? Well that's just fine by me." He slapped her face, punched her in one breast, resumed his finger jabbing into her, and kneed his way between her legs.
Yuffie could feel the little man's erection against her body. She tried raising a knee to buck him over her head, but he seemed to know that trick. She fought and squirmed. She would have screamed, but this was Shinra and no one would have come to help her. Damn, bastard! Fight!
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In the cell block hallway, Jens and Jerry glanced into the princess' cell. She wasn't there!
"Come on. The interrogation room!" The Third Classes ran down the hall, Jens leading.
Jens took one glance through the tiny window in the interrogation room door. "Bastard! He's raping her! I'll just bet that wasn't authorized by the Colonel!" Jens didn't care if it hurt his career or not. This was wrong! Jens knew the door was reinforced, possibly locked. He looked at his friend. Two Third Classes should be able to break through with a running start. Jens took ten steps back from the door and set in a fighting stance followed by Jerry who understood what his friend was proposing without his saying it—flying side kicks, just like in sparring class on a bag! "On three… One… Two… Three!"
The young Soldiers' feet met the reinforced metal door and ripped it from its hinges. The lock bolts screamed from the frame. The bottom edge of the bending door caught Digital in the face, pulled him from the girl, and smashed him against the far wall. Jens and Jerry jumped away from the door, landed close to the wall, smiled at each other, and high-fived. "That's that way it's done! Yes!"
To the young Soldiers' shock, the princess tried to run from them, but her feet tangled in her clothes. Jens jumped over her head to land in front of her then turned. He stood just inside the splintered door frame, spread his hands wide, careful to make no threatening motion toward her. "It's all right. We're here to help. What he was doing was wrong. It's okay." Jens hoped she'd calm down. The princess had been fighting Digital well, as far as Jens could see, but now tears were starting to leak from her eyes. "Easy. Just breathe. Easy. It's okay. Easy. It's okay. Breathe. Easy." Jens' words were beginning to sound monotonous even to him—he just hoped they were at least a little soothing. He glanced over the princess' shoulder to Jerry. "You'd better tie him up before somebody comes. I hear kisoris work for that sort of thing." Jerry nodded, pulled the remains of the door off the dazed Turk, pushed the man face first onto the floor and sat on him, then unhooked his straps.
"It's okay. Easy. Might want to put your pants on…" Jens waved a hand in the general direction of the princess' clothes but was careful to keep his eyes on her face.
Yuffie gave Jens a small nod and bent her knees to reach for her pants. Reaction was starting to set in. The adrenaline rush was ending, and Yuffie began to cry harder. Her knees didn't want to work. Suddenly Jens was beside her. He slowly lifted the waistband of her pants up from the floor and around her calves and thighs.
Jens looked in the princess' eyes and very slowly, gently, pulled her pants back into position. "Need me to close these?" Yuffie gave a short, negative jerk of her head, then when her hands shook too hard to close the snaps, she grimaced and jerked her head "yes." Jens carefully closed the snap, not putting his fingers inside the waistband to do so, then slowly raised the zipper, and immediately pulled his hands back. In the distance he could hear guards coming. "You okay?" Another affirmative jerk of her head. "Good. Come on. We've got to get you back to your cell. Okay?" Jens turned and took a step toward the hallway.
Jens was never quite sure afterward that he heard it. "Thank you."