A/N: Oh dear…Cid found the first clue…it's time to bring out the handy dandy…NOTEBOOK!
Wutai Airport Hangar 7…
Cid had put most of his energy toward finding out about this Bahamut-like ship…why did it look familiar? He had spoken with Godo sometime earlier, and apparently, he was bothered by the captain as well. If he can find out the identity of this ship, then he can find a list of captains who took command of it—and thus he can narrow down the list of suspects that owned this beauty. As he slammed on his desk in frustration, he got up, and sat on the catwalk looking upon the "Crimson Angel" and overseeing the work that was being done on the "Highwind". Well, at least this captain knew to pay back for his damages by fixing them.
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked a female voice behind him. Cid cursed under his breath with a silent "bloody hell" as he turned to see a woman with chestnut hair and eyes and dressed in a lab coat. She had a tray of coffee in her hands as she sat down next to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you; we didn't have a chance to meet. I'm Shera Renoir, chief engineer of the 'Crimson Angel'. Am I bothering you with something?"
"Nah, it's nothing," he said, "it's just that I don't believe that a ship like this could have ever seen a bloody battle. Look at it, it's probably way ahead of its time judging from its age, and here it is housing a bunch of pirates."
"Well, I'm just thankful that I had a good captain."
"How did you join the crew anyhow?"
"A lot of us are members of other ships that the captain plundered. I don't know why, but for some reason, he spared certain members of the ships he attacks due to some quality in them that he likes. I should know this because he told me himself when I asked him after about three weeks into my debt that there was something about me that he liked…he never elaborated, but I never pushed it again after that. I suppose he chooses you due to whatever he sees in your eyes that he likes…"
"Did you ever find out for yourself why he bloody liked you?"
"I still haven't figured it out, but if he wanted me simply for my skills as an engineer, he would probably have treated me like a tool plain and simple—but the day he puts you in his debt, you're under his command, and he really takes care of everyone under him. I suppose that's why the crew has so much respect for him, and so they're hesitant to leave when they've paid up their debt to him."
As Cid took a gander in Shera's chestnut eyes, he began to wonder…what sort of person was he? Captain Valentine was a very strange pirate…some pirate captains he had heard about wouldn't give a damn about their crew and treat them as expendable, but he seems to really care. And as he looked harder, it was then that he saw something in this woman that was the ship's engineer. Oh, now he knows…and as soon as he had made that revelation, it made him blush. He won't reveal to her what he had found out.
"In any case," he said, "take a butcher's at this beauty…streamlined design, efficient placement of all broadside and primary weapons; I'm not kidding you, the blighters that designed her must've died to make her such a beautiful work of art and combine it with functionality and practicality for warfare—she even has her statues on certain parts of the ship with a purpose behind it."
Shera moved her hand behind Cid as she gazed upon the beauty that was her ship. "I know…that's what I thought when I first saw the 'Angel'. She seemed so beautiful to me and with such painstaking attention to detail in order to make such a perfect ship of her class—it seems to me like she's too expensive and pretty to be a mass-produced model Bahamut."
"Yeah, I know. I…" Cid was interrupted from his thoughts as he had come up with an idea, "what was it you just said?"
Shera sighed in frustration. "I said that 'it seems to me like she's too expensive and pretty to be a mass-produced model Bahamut', why?"
"I was just trying to find out your captain's identity. Y'know, help my bloke Godo see what kind of man he's tying his daughter with. Now you said it yourself that it's too pretty and expensive to be bloody mass-produced correct? Now why do you suppose that is so?"
Shera's eyes were fixed in thought…it was then that she shook her head. She understood his concern—that girl the captain was marrying was probably a treasure to this man. "Well, off the top of my head, it is either that this is indeed a mass-produced Bahamut airship that has been reproduced highly accurately and customized down to the power generator, or this is a prototype model—in other words, the very first Bahamut battle cruiser ever made."
What Shera had said made sense—unless it's a heavily customized ship, there's no way that a Bahamut would look better and be even stronger than the standard mass-produced model unless it's a prototype. And now that he had the big clue, he now knew what this ship was—there was only one ship like it in the world and no subsequent Bahamut battle cruiser could ever match up to it…but that's impossible! How is it that it exists now? There's no mistaking it—it was no wonder he found this ship familiar! How could he have been so blind?! In the history of airship shipwright masterpieces, there's only one ship of this type with this many good features going for it, and that's the "Crimson Princess"! Such remarks as 'WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!' and 'HOW IS THIS EVEN FUCKING POSSIBLE?!' popped into his head, but the biggest remark was 'Wait a minute, if this is the authentic "Crimson Princess", then how does Valentine fucking fit into all of this?'…hell, he's going to find that list of captains who have commanded that bloody fine ship…well, bloody fine ghost ship.
With that, Cid stood up, and had Shera running after him. "Wait! Where are you going? I…" Shera was running so fast that she had unconsciously closed in on him quickly, but as she was running, she raised her hand, and accidently found herself grabbing a part that caused her to become red as a tomato when she saw…Cid paused in his running, looking at the blushing woman, and obviously embarrassed himself—this was the first time that this had ever happened to him, especially since this was a virgin lady who had just grabbed his ass. After clearing her throat, Shera turned her head away—she was still embarrassed by what she did. "W-w-what I mean is…maybe I can help…I'd like to know who my captain really is…I want to know more about him…"
Cid was still embarrassed as well—and his head was turned to avoid her gaze. "Uh-um…sure thing…it's just…ah, let's just go." With that, the two of them ran to the library…
Zack's Apartment…
The sound of the new ringtone she had downloaded for her cell phone had rung out. Carys had heard that sound next to Zack's bed. God damn it, who could it is that was calling her at seven in the morning, and on a Friday? What kind of monster would call a college student on the first day of his or her three-day weekend? She simply reached for the phone, and answered it. "Hello?"
"Carys?"
"Ugh. Do you know what time it is Yuffie? Can't a regular college student sleep in after a hot night on Friday?"
"Carys, I need your help…I'm going out to dinner with someone at Chez Rouge, and I'm not sure what to wear. You want to meet me at the mall today?"
"Sure. I'll meet you around 2…"
It was then that there was motion on the bed. "Yuffie needs help as usual?" As he spoke, Zack ran his strong hand gently up Carys' leg, and then started tracing circles around her belly button and kissing her neck. To her, that never got old; as a matter of fact, bedding this gentleman beside her would never get old at all. "Yeah, she said she wanted to go out and find something to wear for a dinner at Chez Rouge."
He lifted his head from her neck and looked at her. "Chez Rouge? That Corellian restaurant in the northern end of town? If I know Yuffie, she only takes guys there when she thinks they're really special—I believe the last time she went there was with…"
"Yeah. I know, she went out with Kadaj. I really want him to be happy and all, but you know—him choosing to be in the army, and me choosing to be a doctor, we both went our separate ways. And then Yuffie dates him and sees him only as a brother she should have had. What says you to that Zack?"
"Well, from what you told me of Kadaj, he is in fact a good person. I just hope he gets clued in on Yuffie's thoughts about him before he gets shattered. Although if I were him, I'd talk to her before she goes out to see someone else."
Carys turned around in the bed under the blanket and looked into her lover's eyes—oh those pools of sapphire had mesmerized her so. She only smiled at him, and then kissed him while hugging him. Even after one night of hot passion where she was spanked on her rump just yesterday, he still managed to make her more sensitive to his touch and wanting more. The two naked lovers then covered themselves under the blanket, for this morning would be as…fun as last night…
Godo's Office…
The two piles of paperwork were beginning to annoy the sole occupant sitting at the desk. To think, being a merchant would have been easier than working as a member of the Wusheng Special Operations unit…how boring! But then again, he is doing a good thing for his country—even though his family has long been traditionally a ninja family loyal to the royalty (hell, at one point, they WERE royalty), they still found all sorts of ways to help Wutai. In Godo's case, he was working to help his country get richer…ever since the end of the war thirty years ago, him and his family had been scattered in terms of work. Some managed to find work with the government as counterterrorist and special operations units, and they continued to work in the shadows as all ninjas were trained to work…others, such as Godo himself, traded in their swords and shuriken for checkbooks, butcher knives and frying pans, as well as anvils and hammers. Yes, after the Kisaragi mixed in with the crowd in different ways, Wutai started getting stronger—in fact, they are about as powerful as the megalopolis known as Midgar, with whom they had fought the "Western War" against…to the people of Midgar, this was known as the "Wutai War". Oh he remembered those days when he was a twelve-year-old gennin…in Wutai, the minimum age for recruiting ninjas is around age 12, while standard foot soldiers are recruited at age 16.
He remembered the days when his ninja squad was one of the finest of all the rookies—they were known as Team Storm, and they were consisted of himself, his future wife Nomura Michiko, his future brother-in-law Hayate Lockheart, and his team captain code-named Susanoo. His team was on tier with and in competition with two other teams: Team Moon and Team Sun. Whereas his unit was specialized in assault with the highest kill rate on Midgar soldiers, Team Moon was mostly known for their ability to track and assassinate targets with the record in most precision kills lead by the mysterious Tsukuyomi, and Team Sun was prized for their ability to defend objectives and for their expertise in demolitions work lead by his best friend Chekov, code-named Amaterasu. All ninja teams had consisted of four-man squads, and then the three units came together and found themselves not simply as competition, but also as colleagues, and so the alliance known as the "Shadows of Izumo" came to be.
Before he could think anymore on the past, he heard someone barging in. "It's all right Elmyra," he said, before his secretary could speak up, "they're guests. So Sephiroth, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
The man in question stepped into the office and took a seat as soon as Elmyra left the room. "I've heard that you're about to marry off young Yuffie, am I correct?"
"I suppose there are things that do not escape your knowledge then is there Detective Crescent? In any case, I've been wondering as to my future son-in-law's true identity myself. Is there anything of interest that you found?"
"I have bits and pieces so far…however, I do have one bit of information coming from an informant that should be coming on over shortly…"
This would be the second time someone had barged into his office. It was Cid, and the look of confusion on his face was obvious from the first second he stepped into the room. "Detective, good to see you…" "Likewise Captain Highwind…please, have a seat, and tell us of your findings."
"Right…boss, like I told this wanker over the phone, I found a clue as to our mystery groom's bloody identity." As he paused, he was motioned by Godo to continue. "Anyway, I was looking over his ship, and it didn't really fit any serial number for any mass-produced Bahamut in the list. As I continued reading, it turns out that his ship was a prototype Bahamut battle cruiser…that went under the name of 'Crimson Princess'. Now I checked the timelines, and the name goes back to a Captain Vincent Valentine of the Wutainese Air Force…and according to the timeline, it shows that Vincent Valentine is the sole captain of the 'Princess' since the day he was promoted to being a captain of his own ship, and earned himself the nickname of 'The Flying Demon of Nibelheim' because out of all the battles he's fought and won, Nibelheim was the place he had held the longest due to the large number of ambushes he had set up there. Nowadays, everyone on the Western Continent just calls him 'The Flying Demon' because of his ferocity in battle—hell, my old codger back at Rocket Town still has nightmares from when that guy boarded his ship and tore apart every bloody soul that dared to challenge him. According to him, he fought the way I saw him fight in the 'Highwind' earlier—in fact, I would say that his style matches your own."
As soon as Cid had finished, he looked up into the ceiling in confusion. "When Captain Highwind presented me with his findings, I learned that Vincent Valentine was but a cover. As I continued to prod on and on in the black ops files, I found out that his military career goes back to the Wusheng personnel databases. I have a suspicion that you may know Valentine, because I've looked into his files, and his true identity became clear to me now…"
"Crimson Angel" Captain's Quarters…
Shelke's cameras were focused on the door to the shower. She could blame Elena for this—she bunked with Reno, Rude, and Tseng, all of whom were with the captain even before the first day he came on board. The reason she blamed Elena was because as one of the only women on this ship, she had to instill a curiosity for the opposite gender into the AI construct what with her speaking to Aeris and Shera about her feelings for Tseng, and the obvious crush aimed at her by Reno.
Thanks to this, Shelke found herself resorting to petty voyeurism just to get his attention. Unscrupulous, but who can judge a machine? In any case, she sat tight, and watched as her personal and unwitting pornography star walked on out of the shower room with a towel wrapped around his waist as the steam from the shower had enveloped his form. Looking at his body was never going to get old with her—what was there not to like? He had a slender and muscular catlike frame; combined with his facial features, he could put any woman to shame in a beauty contest. The only thing that frightened women was the amount of scars crisscrossing his body. She then noted that he was walking towards the closet when he suddenly paused and then promptly threw the towel quickly at the lens—shit! He figured it out!
"Up until now I had a feeling that I've had eyes upon me," said Captain Valentine, "I just never suspected that you would stoop so low Shelke." "Come on captain," she said with a whine in her voice, "even I need to have some release—although being a machine, I can't put out the feelings that an organism can in heat, I still have an emotional processor."
Vincent stepped into the closet after slipping on his boxers, and looking through his clothes that he had kept outside of his tenure with the air force. "You can't blame your actions on Elena…only if you have a corporeal body of your own will I allow you to use that excuse. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my wallet."
As she resumed control of her camera, Shelke got one glance at her captain—he was wearing beige khakis, chocolate-colored slip-on shoes, a light leather jacket, and with a burgundy long-sleeve button-down shirt while he placed his wallet into the back pocket; yep, he was ready for that date all right. As soon as she was done watching, she willed herself into the top-secret lab in the core room. She can't blame Elena for her voyeuristic tendencies without a body? Very soon, Shelke will have a reason to blame her…and even more reason to do more than just that…
Outside the Pagoda Way Town Center…
Yuffie and Carys had walked down the street with a bag in their possession. "So what's this guy like?" she asked, "I dunno," answered Yuffie, "I don't really know much about him except that he and dad just met. He's sticking around a bit to restock and resupply before he leaves again. But something about him pulls me in…like I want to know more about him. Also, last night, he kicked my ass in Barrett's gym."
Carys looked at her friend in surprise. "No way…the Great Yuffie Kisaragi, the almighty 'White Rose of Wutai', got her ass handed to her by a total stranger?"
"And by my own style too…judging by his technique, I'd say he's at least a ninth-level black belt if not a sensei himself."
"And you're seeing him tonight?"
"Yeah, mostly due to the fact that I lost to him. The good news about it is that I get to pick the restaurant."
"A guy that makes you choose the restaurant? What kind of date is that? Where is he from anyway?"
"I'm going to ask him that when I get to dinner."
"You'd better…I want to know all the juicy details!"
The two of them continued to stroll on over to Yuffie's house. The two of them had been friends since elementary. It would be no surprise that they spend a lot of time together. "Don't worry about it. I'll make sure I crack him and make him reveal all."
A/N: First clue…the "Crimson Angel", formerly "Crimson Princess", is a prototype; Second clue…Sephiroth's revelations; and the final clue is Godo's memory. Who is Valentine? Sorry for the shortness, but I plan to add another twist fairly soon.
Translations:
Gennin—read in kanji as "lower patience", this is a trainee ninja, and so they are usually the ones who are in the field to perform the actual work. Ninjas are so-named by the characters for "patience person" or "practitioner of patience" because of the work they do (recon and assassination requires patience, planning, and timing), and so the kanji used to denote a ninja's rank always describes the amount of training for patience that they have.
Susanoo, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu—the triplets of Japanese Shintoism. Susanoo is the god of war and storms, Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon, and Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun said to have been the ancestor of the emperors.
Black belt—in some forms of martial arts (usually the open-handed styles), the black belt is a representation of how well you understand the theory behind the martial art in question…just a black belt itself means you're already above the average student, but as you get better, you start adding more marks per level to your belt—ninth level is the highest you can go…anyone way past that is eligible to be a sensei.