A/N: Here comes the early confrontation between Yuffie and Vincent…no romance yet, but they'll have the unveiling of each other's identities. Mark my words, there will be Mandarin spoken…and I'm debating as to whether or not I should translate the Mandarin dialogue for readers in the future…do read and review would you kindly?
7:00 PM…The Blurry Moon Music Bar and Grill…
Among one of the few places still reputable in the Sector 5 slums, the Blurry Moon was a very well-known place. Every night was a different genre of music that walked on up the stage and was performed. In addition to the exceptional quality of the basic restaurant necessities such as the food and service, the bar was well-known for one fact; it was one of the places where all up-and-coming musicians aiming to make it big in the world of entertainment would come and play. This was done to attract more customers, several of whom would be talent scouts for some big-name record companies. Its name was recorded in the book of legendary places due to the fact that many stars in the music world had their beginnings from succeeding their first ground-breaking performances at this very bar; for in the Blurry Moon, your performance on the stage will make or break you depending on your success…and all musicians know that is so because news always travels fast from this very bar.
It just so happens that tonight is Jazz Night, and the first band of the night stood on the stage. The red-head singer stepped up to the microphone, and tapped lightly to get everyone's attention…she looked like the usual green performer with her short and slightly disheveled hair, to the point that the dead could smell how fresh she was. Sure, she looked healthy and in good proportions for a woman her age, but the big question on everyone's minds was shown in the usual "is she any good" look. "I thank-you ladies and gentlemen for coming here tonight," she began, her voice was soft, showing nothing but the color of green in her, "I'd like to introduce myself, I am Elfe, and this is my band, the 'Black Mages'. Normally we play rock, but I'd like to play a cover song in order to kick off Jazz Night for you."
The second she finished her sentence, Elfe turned to her band and nodded. After that, she started to sing as the bassist and pianist followed.
You had plenty money, 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You're sittin' there and wonderin' what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do
The waiter moved on to the table where the two men sat amongst the sound of clapping that was filling the air. He was carrying a tray with a rib-eye steak with vegetables, a chicken a la king with spaghetti, a glass of 1964 Clan McTavish Bone Village Whiskey, and a glass of 2009 Gaius Valerian Midgarian Chardonnay. Barrett simply looked on and watched as their orders had arrived. "Now that there is definite talent," he said, watching the singer as she sang her song, "and the best part of it is that she's home-grown…meaning that she's got a chance to get out of here even if this performance goes sour."
After taking in a twist of his spaghetti and a sip of his wine, Valentine looked to Barrett with curiosity in his eyes. "You know the singer?"
"Let's just say that Verdot was lucky that his daughter turned out to be such a looker."
The major simply looked down at his plate in apparent shame. "Captain Guillerme-Francois Verdot, a.k.a. 'Veld'…Mideelean Origin…45th Hellfire Spec Ops Squad. He was my second-in-command. Last I heard he transferred to the Turks along with several other members after the war on terror. I didn't hear of his fate until Elena came to me with the job. If I'd have heard that he was on that train, I would've put a bullet through Corneo's brain and killed his inner circle slowly the day I arrived at this hellhole he had created."
"Now don't you go and beat yourself up; you didn't know he was there, so nobody's to blame. Besides, now that you're on the hunt again, you can make it's safe for her for her to leave this place when she's ready."
"Understood."
"And since I've managed to catch your attention, you mind telling me what else is on your mind?"
"What makes you think that?"
"You've got this sort of distracted look in your eyes…one that I've not seen since a few months before your wedding. Now who caught your eye?"
Valentine simply sighed. Colonel Wallace was always known to be very perceptive…otherwise he wouldn't have made colonel if he were blind. And it was that perception that allowed him to stay married for a few years before Carol was murdered and Valentine went out to put that killer down. "I met a girl before coming here…"
"Is this the 'love' sort of intuition, or the 'other' intuition?"
"I'd definitely say that mostly it's the latter…."
"That mixed up?"
"You know a Godo Kisaragi right?"
"Who doesn't know of him? 9th Tsunami Spec Ops Company…served with him several times in the past. Was a Captain last I saw him…never saw him in the war on terror though. Damn good commander during the Mideel Conflict…last I heard, he leads a gang of vigilantes that are prepared to deal good old fashioned frontier justice should the legal way fail, not that I blame him of course. Government's too corrupt what with so many cops on the take…you should know that given your days after the war."
"Yeah, even SWAT was not free of corruption. Anyway, the reason I ask is because I have a sneaking suspicion that I met his daughter."
"You're serious? How do you even know she's his daughter?"
"My instincts have pointed me in that direction."
"Damn. You planning on seeing her again?"
"Most definitely; at least so that we can see where our interests lie."
"I'll drink to that. I only hope that you can come to a compromise if she turns out to be Kisaragi's daughter."
"You and me both."
Meanwhile, Sunshine Fields Motel…
The images running through Aeris' computer were being used to finding the identity of the assassin. It was very important that Yuffie knew the background and past of her friend-slash-enemy…after all, it was Sun Tzu who said "Know yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles…" a saying that she was more than willing to follow should she need to work against him. "Long black hair, red eyes, and very angular features," began Yuffie, "and he's Han Wutainese."
In addition to her skills as a fighter and a driver, Tifa was also known as the artist of the trio…a skill that helped her whenever her boyfriend Cloud had called her up to help him with drawing pictures of suspects he was after. "Is this your assassin?" She held up the sketch pad for Yuffie to see.
"Yep, that's him."
"Then I know his name."
"What?"
"You remember that serial killer that murdered a pregnant wife in Sector 7 about a year ago? Hojo I believe his name was?"
"Yeah, unfortunately I've heard of him. The man was a murderous psycho that many were afraid of. The only eye-witness brave enough to testify against him was a husband who supposedly walked in and saw him stabbing his dead wife in the belly, and fighting said murderer off. A few weeks later, they caught Hojo and that murderous bastard was let go because the evidence was circumstantial, the eye-witness account was flimsy, and because he had Scarlett Townshend as his lawyer. Next month, Hojo was found dead in his home—with a knife wound in his stomach and across his throat just like his last murder victim. After that, those high-end assassinations started happening. I never did catch the name of that witness, but I remember clearly that it started with two of the same letter…it's on the tip of my tongue…"
"We're looking at Vincent Valentine."
It was then that Yuffie had a flash of recognition. Before she could think anymore on the subject, Aeris keyed in the name in the police database she had hacked, and pulled up a dossier before showing it to Yuffie. "Vincent Valentine, a member of the Sector 7 Special Weapons and Tactics unit as a major…prior to that, he served in the war on terror also as a major. He was previously attached to the 45th Hellfire Spec Ops Squad as its commander, and was also its sniper and recon specialist. Was married to Lucrecia Crescent, and resigned from SWAT a while after her death. After that, it kind of goes dark…nobody's heard from him since. If he's that assassin we're in competition with, then it all seems to fit."
Tifa looked to her friend with genuine concern in her eyes. This man's past so far was questionable, and so alarms were sounding off in her mind. "Are you sure you want to go meet him? His history so far is a bit questionable, and if he is the assassin, what makes you think he won't add you to the list of bodies he's accumulated so far?"
"I know that. That's why I'm having you follow us to our next meeting place just in case. And besides, I know exactly where he keeps his gun…ugh! I shouldn't have said that! Anyway, from that moment I bumped into him, I know where he keeps both weapons, so I still have a contingency should he decide to shoot me up or stab me…besides this is an opportunity for us to see the face of our rival up close…and maybe have a little chat…"
The next morning, 10:40 AM Greene Park…
Much of the Sector 5 Slums is a dreary place with few places giving sparkles of light. The sad thing however was that before Don Corneo took power and started leeching money off almost everyone in Sector 5 (he had little success with the upper class citizens), the place was a model sector where everyone wanted to live. Now however, corruption found its claws gripping tightly around the city in both the slums and the high-class district as police officers, lawyers, and even judges were on the take…and nobody was guaranteed to live very long. Greene Park was one of the few places untouched by the taint of the disease Corneo brought with him…but even today, it was no surprise to be seeing homeless people sleeping on benches with police officers taking advantage of any moment for police brutality. However, if one ignored the vagrants finding ways of constructing makeshift bedding here and there, it was still a very beautiful place…as if its purity was anathema to the darkness that plagued the sector.
It was a beauty that Valentine noted as he stretched in front of the benches. If he was going to get to know the girl that he would likely be working with, he may as well prepare himself for a jog. "You been waiting long?" asked a voice from behind him, "No, not too long," he said, "I was just stretching as a matter of fact."
"Good…because I was planning on treating you to lunch today after we run."
"Is this a date?"
"If you want it to be."
"I honestly haven't been on the dating scene in a while. I'm pretty sure you'll be disappointed."
"Let me be the judge of that."
Nearby…
Tifa watched carefully with her binoculars in the car nearby. Yuffie was like a sister to her, and watching her jogging with a certified assassin was not very comforting for her. But she still had the training from being a part of the Army reserve to know how to handle herself with a gun. Being in the 957th Avalanche Platoon, Cloud had told her one or two things about the 45th Hellfire Squad he'd heard; among those rumors he heard was they were known for causing untold amounts of destruction involving fire, hence the nickname and their motto being "Nostrum hostilis vadum exuro", and this was shown by the fact that they favored using incendiary rounds. They were also known to be one of the stealthiest members attached to Avalanche Platoon, and so it was no surprise that they were mostly called upon for recon missions as well…a given that they are practically a commando squad.
She knew that given his training as a commando, he was very well-versed in the art of unconventional warfare and was more inclined to fight dirty if in a hand-to-hand situation, but she was not taking any chances with him…which was why she brought a handgun with her just in case it came to a firefight. And the fact that she drove in such a manner that it was not noticeable to the runners made her job as security all the easier…all she had to do was follow them to the restaurant, and get a table close to them so that she could pull Yuffie out should things go south.
11:30 AM, Dongxing Jiujia
Forty-five minutes of running had been training enough for now it seemed, as the two runners found themselves at the Han Wutainese restaurant known as Dongxing Jiujia. It wasn't long until they got a table and sat down. The waiter waited for the two of them to sit down before he asked, "Ni xiang he shenme cha?"
"Gei women Tie Guan Yin cha ba."
"Hao ah! Xie xie ni." Once said, the waiter soon left. The Yuffie simply watched and waited until she was sure that the waiter was out of earshot. "You seem well-versed in the Han dialect."
"Of course, I grew up in an area where there were a lot of Han people. I didn't become fluent in Basic until high-school."
Yuffie sighed…oh she knew it was not going to be easy to get out of this alive. But the fact that Tifa had arrived and managed to get a seat next to them had assured her that now she was protected should things go badly. "Why don't we just cut to the chase," she said moving closer, and lowering her voice, "I know you're an assassin Major Valentine."
His red eyes had widened briefly, and then he settled down…as if he wasn't surprised she found out. Just after he settled down, the waiter came back with a white teapot and two cups, and left. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he began, after waving a waitress and ordering some shrimp dumplings, "given that I have encountered one Kisaragi Godo…he is your father isn't he?"
Her eyes had widened in surprise. "How did you know?"
"Everybody in the army knew your father, or at least knew of him. I met him once in passing, but I can see aspects of him in you…he had this sort of aura that spoke of honor, principle, and a hint of stubbornness that you have. Although I can tell that you probably got your brains from both him and your mother."
"Very observant, the name's Yuffie by the way."
"You can call me Vincent."
"A pleasure…but there is just one important question at the moment."
The raised eyebrow she saw him give her was cue enough, but his eyes told her that he had a pretty good idea. "If the question is 'what do we do now?' then I'm right there with you."
A/N: I'm so evil…I thought a cliffhanger would've been a good idea here. Some however, may be inclined to disagree I'm afraid. Anyway, I'm taking beta-reader requests for this story, and so anyone who volunteers will be welcome to help.
Songs Used:
"Why Can't You Do Right?" Jessica Rabbit cover from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"—First song in Blurry Moon
"Evil" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Studying up on Vincent
"Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Jogging
"Fisherman's Song of the East China Sea" from "Kung Fu Hustle"—having dim-sum
Vocabulary/Culture Notes:
"Nostrum hostilis vadum exuro"—Latin for "Our enemies shall burn"
"Dongxing Jiujia"—Mandarin for "East Star Restaurant"
Tie Guan Yin—a kind of Chinese green tea…very popular, and is commonly ordered when eating dim-sum
Ordering dim-sum—in the traditional manner of ordering dim-sum (in the U.S. and in certain parts of China), the dim-sum is pushed around and cooked on special carts to be served to people that ask for it, you need only wave in the waiter/waitress pushing the cart and ask them for what they have and tell them what you want (have the check ready so they can stamp it so it can be tallied up later). Nowadays in a lot of places (especially in Canada, being a permanent resident), the restaurant gives you a menu with check boxes so that you can mark how many of each dish you want and they will give it to you the way European restaurants do. Either way, the very first thing you do before ordering any food is to tell the waiter what sort of tea you want, as having dim-sum is about the Chinese equivalent of "Tea Time", only you usually order the salty dishes first.