A/N: A warning to all readers, there will be more Mandarin spoken ahead in the chapter, and I won't give any tone marks (I'm writing entirely in English, so I don't have the fonts for pinyin). Please note that my Mandarin is not so good, and that I am still learning—and if you can understand the dialogue, then that's good; Aces to you! And the identity of the first woman in Chapter 2 will be revealed. So do please read and review would you kindly?
And to Ski October, I'm sorry I couldn't wait to submit this chapter. I hope you can forgive me.
Sunday…
It's been almost a week since Yuffie last walked on down to the "Haoyuan Yiwushi" for her anything other than work in her case. The rest of her week was so-so…several orders were filled in for the order of more imports of such things as Galian Beast Inc.'s Cerberus X666 laptops and Muse Touch 320GB MP3 players, orders of dried goods to go to specialty stores and Traditional Wutainese doctors, and even high-quality goods such as handmade folded steel katana by such geniuses as Okazaki Masamune and Sengo Muramasa for collectors and martial artists studying kendo or iaido. She had come to the hotel room to see Elmyra for the week…to check up on Aeris and Zack.
"So how are things with you so far?"
"Things are going well dear, but you may want to come on over; they just came back from a movie."
"Oh yeah, let's see what they're up to!"
With that, the two of them brought the pair of binoculars out to watch from across the window. They watched as Zack walked towards the kitchen…he had a sort of tired look in his face that was somehow alleviated by the fact that Aeris was here.
As if understanding the silent question Yuffie was about to ask, Elmyra cleared her throat. "The poor boy has had it hard at work, what with his boss making moves on him, of all people!"
Yuffie turned to look Elmyra square in the face with wide eyes. "No way! You've got to be joking!"
The deadpan look on her friend's face was clear. She was definitely not joking. "If it were me, I could understand a woman doing such a thing, and it wouldn't be such a problem! But considering that that bit of sexual harassment is coming from a man then I don't blame him—it's really an awkward situation from what I hear. I mean really, that Shin-Ra boy has got to know that 'no' means 'no'! Although I will have to admit…I do admire his persistence…but sometimes he just won't take 'no' for an answer…I mean, rumor has it he's never like that with any of the man-whores he hangs around with!"
"Wait a minute, you're telling me Rufus Shin-Ra is gay?"
"That's the word on the street…it looks like we'll be having a bit of a complication on this trip of love you're making for them…"
As Yuffie looked on into her binoculars at the fact that both Aeris and Zack in the latter's apartment, she found a sight she'd never see in her time as a matchmaker. Through the other side of the vision-amplifying lenses, she spotted Aeris and Zack fighting…after a few more minutes, it appeared that Aeris won the argument as Zack was standing around with a bemused look on his face before she left as if he were pondering something. "I have an idea…find a job for Zack. Something he may like better—that way we'll have a happy couple in the long run."
"But how are we going to implement that dear?"
"That's where you come in…find a job that Zack would very likely enjoy, and be subtle when you bring Aeris the suggestion…no wait, scratch that; you may want to pass the job offer on to Zack directly. It looks like he's not going to be seeing Aeris for a while, so you will have to slip it to him quietly so that he thinks that it's his idea…just work that silver tongue of yours, and we have it made. I'll talk to you later…judging by the way Aeris stormed out, it's likely she'll be here shortly; I don't want her to see me…otherwise, the whole operation is compromised."
It was there that Yuffie stormed out leaving Elmyra behind. "Very well then dear, be safe!"
Monday…
This was it! Today was the day she would begin Phase Two of moving slowly…where she would get more information from the target bit by bit. It was also today that she would be getting actual treatments from Vincent's regular and prescribed acupressure therapy sessions…she would be using this time to bond with him as he stimulated her meridians. Come to think of it, she didn't know how acupuncture was like, and thus she didn't understand how it should feel when her acupressure points were pressed. But perhaps it would be her first time to see what it was like. And because of the license she noted that Vincent had hung on the wall behind the counter, she knew that he had taken the certification tests as required by law…what was also interesting was that he also had a license for western medicine…that was odd…why would he have that license as well?
Vincent was busy at the counter typing away at his Cerberus X666—apparently a patient's name and appointment date. "You're just in time for your appointment."
"I make it a point to get to places on time."
"That's a very good point to make. Now if you'll just follow me, we can get this started."
"Do I have to pay you before we start?"
"No need. I always bill my patients after treatment."
Yuffie followed Vincent to the room in the back when she heard the phone ringing. He let out a sigh of annoyance. "Excuse me for a moment while I take this call. And don't worry; just because I charge by the hour does not mean that I'll charge while you wait for me."
"I'll just hang on then…"
She watched as Vincent walked towards the counter, silencing the ringing of the phone by taking it off the hook. "Hello? Ah! Huang Xiansheng, ni hao! Shenme? Ni shuo shenme? Qi-qing shuo huan yi dian hao bu hao? Uh-huh…uh-huh…hao ah, wo yihou zhunbei ni de chufang gei ni. Hen hao, wo mingtian gei ni. Zaijian!"
It was there that Yuffie was watching him the whole time, and was listening in on the phone conversation. Oh she knew what he said. "I'm next?"
"That's the plan."
"Who was that on the phone?"
"That was another of my patients."
"Shouldn't you be getting his prescription ready?"
Vincent turned to faces his current patient with astonishment clear in his eyes. "I'm surprised…ni dong wo shuo shenme?"
"Wo dong le. Wo de gongzuo you hen duo zhugu shuo zhongwen ye hen duo ren shuo riwen."
"Very good, you speak my native tongue very well. As to Mr. Huang, I have until tomorrow to prepare his prescription; in that time, I have an appointment to keep with you."
The back room behind the counter was simple…there was a massage table with a hole for the face to go through, in addition to a biohazard disposal bin near the door. As she continued to observe the room, she also saw a shelf above a counter containing boxes of various things, such as disposable acupuncture needles, mugwort sticks for moxybustion, a couple bottles of rubbing alcohol for sterilizing reusable acupuncture needles, and even metal trays. "Please settle down on the table while I find the proper meridians."
At the mention of 'meridians', Yuffie also noted another thing in the room; posters on the wall containing the various meridian points. It was of course natural to be seeing such posters—Traditional Wutainese doctors are only human after all…some may need the poster as a guideline to finding the right spot to insert the needle. As she made herself comfortable, she noted Vincent putting down a book, and walking towards her."So how long have you been practicing?"
It was there that he began to inspect her wrist. "Since about five years after the war; believe it or not a few days after the Civil War ended, her majesty Empress Oda took to the throne, she came to me in person in a limousine to offer a position in her imperial guard despite the fact that I am a Southerner. I politely refused and said that I wished to pursue the art of medicine…to repent for all lives I had taken in the war, and to honor someone I loved. To my surprise, she asked if I was doing it for my mother."
"What did you say?"
"I said that I was surprised that the Empress knew my mother—and to that, she replied that my mother had once personally come to treat her. She also said that during that time, the two of them befriended each other…and so she did not find it a surprise that the both of us refused to join the Imperial Court. And so after that day, I continued my education in both thoughts of medicine and decided to open my own practice after graduating. My Uncle Yeh used to own this mansion."
Yuffie then searched her mind…Yeh…Yeh…lots of people in Southern Wutai had the same surname…there could be a Yeh Daxing as well a Yeh Zhang, some of whom could also have been moved to other places. "Is Uncle Yeh somebody I know?"
"He goes by the name given to him while in the dojo…I believe he is known as Yeh Wen."
"Wait a minute, Yeh Wen? As in 'Wufeng de Yeh Wen'?"
"That would be him."
Oh everybody knew about Wufeng de Yeh Wen…of all the students in the Wufeng School of martial arts, only two names came to mind; Wufeng de Yeh Wen and Hongfeng Gongzhu. Both were of the opposite gender, but were also of equivalent skill and strength…well, strength in the case of the latter at the very least. "That's a very famous relative."
"Our relation would be based on a close bond rather than by blood …he was so close in fact, that he's actually family—a custom shared in many schools of martial arts where all your colleagues are the same as your brothers and sisters…ah! Here we are!" No sooner than he said that until Vincent pressed a point on her wrist before moving on up to a point on her shoulder and finally pressing two points on her neck. "Now we let you sit for a moment while I gather the ingredients together for Mr. Huang's medicine. And if you're feeling drowsy, don't worry, it's part of the treatment—in fact, it should be taking effect right about…" Before asking him why he avoided the question, Yuffie found herself dozing off before she flat-out fell asleep.
Yuffie looked around…something about the place seemed familiar to her, she just couldn't put her finger on it…and then she saw a very familiar sight…this was the house that her family had moved into a couple years before her mother was diagnosed with and claimed by the Geostigma. This was one of her happy moments…a moment when her mother had announced a very happy piece of news at the time. This also happened to have been the day of her mother's birthday—it was then that she saw herself in joy that she would be having a little sister; everybody was happy…and then, the scene started to black out and fade away…
"Oh good, you're awake. I was worried that I may have pressed a few wrong points."
Yuffie looked around groggily at her surroundings while feeling something strange…before she turned her attention to Vincent scribbling down on a pad. "How long was I out?"
"I'd say for almost four hours now…usually I let you sit longer, but seeing as this is a maintenance run, it's a bit lighter. How are you feeling?"
"I feel weird…I feel like electricity is riding on a cold current through my veins…and to be honest, that's the good kind of weird…"
"That's good. It should be feeling like that."
"Really?"
"Yep, it should be like that. You're healthy, as all descendants of the Kisaragi Shinobi clan should be." Yuffie looked to Vincent with surprise in her eyes. "Don't look so surprised. I'm a veteran of the war, even I've heard of the Kisaragi clan financing the cause of the South…that and several of your kinsmen were among the rebel forces. All I'm curious about is why the second-in-line to the clan head moved here to Nibelheim."
"Dad wanted a better future for us…meaning me, mom, and him. At first, things were hard…and looking for work was difficult, but the two of them managed to pull through. And that's also why I work for him…because I want to return the favor to him and mom. When the war broke out, he knew that Empress Oda never supported the war; due to the Kisaragi's loyalty to the Empress, my clan took part in the war with the rebels. After we finally started the company, Dad started sending some money the second the war started to finance the cause of the South to help put her in power. Unfortunately, my mom didn't survive to hear about the end of the war. She contracted Geostigma, and died…even today, I still miss her."
"I feel the same way…although my mother died a while after my home in Chishan was invaded."
Yuffie had heard about the atrocities committed in places like Chishan and Xianghe…she'd heard rumors that some Northern soldiers were so barbaric that it was not unheard of that rapes were present among the offenses that were committed. After the Civil War ended, all soldiers that took part in such acts were found and executed the second that Empress Oda took power. She also heard that Hongfeng Gongzhu and the 12 Falcons were responsible for destroying the invasion force of nearly 2 million soldiers stationed in the entire Meihuo Province before they succumbed to their wounds and bled to death standing up and glaring in hatred at the surviving soldiers and causing them to run in terror. She then realized that he must have been there to he see his mother die…something she sympathized with as she herself was forced to watch her mother die a slow and painful death.
"I'm sorry…for what the Northern Empire did…"
"Don't be. You were never there, and your family never supported Emperor Akechi, and so I have no quarrel with you. Well, your session is over for today…and I'll be seeing you in about a week. Today's session was for four hours, and I charge fifty gil per hour for treatments…so the bill comes out to 230 gil plus tax."
Yuffie knew she saw it…the sort-of despondent look before his expression brightened somewhat slightly. But she also knew that keeping a doctor of any sort waiting for the copayment or bill was rude, and so she started fishing through her purse before she found two 100-gil notes, five 5-gil coins, and a 1-gil coin. She then smiled brightly. "Here's your money, and I'll be seeing you in a week. Zaijian!"
"Zaijian!"
As she walked into the streets back to her car with that surge of energy coursing through her veins, Yuffie found another reason to continue on with this job…she'll get to know him, and possibly heal the hurt in his heart before he meets up with Lucrecia as a bit of a side project…the first thing however, was to get to the underlying cause of his hurt before moving any further. This would be a difficult task without getting too involved…if what he revealed was any indication then she getting closer and closer to doing the very thing she swore never to do again since Reno. No! Never again! She'd rather die than to risk going through that heartbreak ever again!
Across the street from 117 Hikaru St…
The older woman watched as Yuffie walked out of the mansion and into her car with a confused look upon her face. Oh she knew what that confused look was about…and according to her colleague, the real job was going to actually kill two birds with one stone. She never did approve of what that woman did…but she did however appreciate the fact that she was trying to make amends for what she did to the good doctor. There was another bird that this job was killing, and that was getting the thrill of spying back in her system…there was the chance that she could be caught, and even with careful precautions to ensure her identity was safer than before, there was still a chance she could be caught—the adrenaline rush seemed to satisfy a craving as she watched Yuffie drive away.
She only hoped that the poor dear broke soon and decided to keep Valentine to herself. Her partner's knowledge of him was rather thorough…239th Rangers Battalion, then the whispered 501st unit in the whole two years of the Civil War? If what she heard from her colleague was correct, then chances of Tseng getting the dossiers for his cousin were pretty much .001 to a million.
Ah, but who cares? In fact, the whole point was that Yuffie would have to do this on her own. Kisaragi Tseng was never meant to get the dossiers anyway…ah, and speak of the devil…
"You knew all along that I wouldn't get those files."
"Of course I knew…and of course, SHE knew. After all, she knows him longer than you."
The bewilderment Tseng's mind was betrayed by his next set of questions…"What's the point in all of this anyway? Getting her to get the attention of a former black operator? What are the two of you trying to do?"
"You've worked with your cousin, and you still can't see a job when it hits you in the face."
"Why him? Surely you know that his position in black ops entailed?"
"He's suffered enough in his life, as has she…you and I both know what Reno did, and we both know that she needs someone to make her find faith in love again…and what better way to do it than to deliberately make a matchmaking job difficult? Don't worry, my partner knew him while he was in black ops…your cousin is in good hands."
"I will trust you for now; but if things go south, I'm putting him out of his misery…understood?"
"Clearly…although I doubt you should be worrying about the good doctor…as a matter of fact, shouldn't you be running home with those groceries in your arms?"
As if he had just realized something, she heard Tseng run off with the grocery bags. He was not going to let Elena tie him up to the bed and torture him! It was then that she also remembered something…ah yes! She had to buy more jasmine and lavender food for the plants at the motel, and to manipulate Zack into getting a new job!
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! If you haven't guessed as to the identity of the older woman by now, then I say that it's always the one you least expect. But all in all, I hope I did well with this story…
Songs Used:
"The Prime Time of your Life" by Daft Punk from "Human After All"—Aeris and Zack's fight
"Make Love" by Daft Punk from "Human After All"—Yuffie thinking to herself after the therapy
"The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini from "The Pink Panther"—The older woman gets caught by Tseng
Vocabulary and Culture Notes:
Sino-Japanese Surnames—in China and Japan (and several other places), the surname come first in a name (i.e. Date Masamune's surname is Date, while Uzumaki Naruto is obvious).
Okazaki Masamune, Sengo Muramasa—master swordsmiths in Japan, their names are used in various fantasy games for katana, such as Sephiroth's nodachi, and one of Cloud's swords (it is mistakenly spelled 'Murasame'). Masamune's swords were said to be possessed by good spirits that never cut flesh as it passed through the blades harmlessly while Muramasa's swords were said to be bloodthirsty demonic blades that cut anything in their path for even the taste of blood.
Kendo, iaido—Japanese styles of swordsmanship. Iaido is the art of drawing the sword, striking the opponent down in that draw, flipping off the blood, and then sheathing it…kendo is the art of fighting with the sword after it's been drawn (most likely in the event that iaido techniques have failed to kill the opponent in the first stroke).
Meridian—a point on the body where an acupuncture needle would be inserted.
Yeh Wen—I stylized him differently, but his name is still a reference. Yeh Wen was a Chinese kung-fu master that specialized in the Wing-Chun style. He was Li Xiaolong's teacher from Foshan, and Li Xiaolong would later be known as Bruce Lee.