THIRTY-FIVE

The girl Reno had called Cissnei stood there on the road leading to Gongaga, hands on her hips and a frown on her face. Then, she flicked her wrist, and the silvery-orange shuriken she'd hurled into the ground at our feet flew back to her. She caught it effortlessly as we all watched, still surprised by her dramatic entrance.

"What are you doing out here, Cissnei?" Rude asked.

"I could ask you the same question," she replied. "But I don't think I need to. It's obvious. And I don't want any fighting here."

Reno didn't budge. "We've got our orders."

"I know that," Cissnei retorted. "But it doesn't matter, Reno. I won't let you cause more trouble for this town. It's already seen far more than enough. So get moving. I don't want to fight you."

"Can't say I'm thrilled about it, either," he sighed. Then he glanced at us and shrugged. "Fine. We'll let you off… this time."

Rude nodded. "We might be leaving, but we've still won."

Tifa snickered. "Just keep telling yourself that."

Then, without another word, he and Reno sauntered off down the main road in the same direction Elena had gone earlier. Cloud, Aerith, and I shared a confused glance with each other and Tifa, then the four of us all turned to Cissnei, lowering our weapons but not putting them away just yet. Although she'd spared us a fight with Reno and Rude, we still didn't know all that much about her.

"You won't be needing those," Cissnei said, lowering her shuriken. "At least, not against me. I'm not your enemy."

"How did you know Reno and Rude?" Tifa asked.

Cloud gazed knowingly at Cissnei. "You're a Turk, too."

She nodded. "Used to be. Not anymore. You're right, though. I was one, for a long time. But… I needed a change."

"So it seems," he said.

Then her eyes widened slightly. "Wait a minute… Cloud? Is that… is that really you? I thought you'd died with… well, nevermind. It's not important right now. I'm just glad you're alright."

He stared at her. "You know me?"

"Have you ever met her, Cloud?" I asked.

"No, Jessie," he answered, shaking his head. "I don't remember ever running into her before. At least… I don't think so."

Aerith glanced at him. "You sure?"

"Positive," Cloud answered.

Cissnei sighed as she tucked her shuriken away. "I'm not surprised. You were pretty out of it the last time I saw you."

I frowned. "What do you mean? When? Where?"

"Easy, Jessie…" Tifa laid a hand on my arm.

Cissnei's brown eyes settled on Buster for a moment before moving on. "We should head into town. I know a place where you can stay the night, if you'd like. And we can grab something to eat as well. It's more comfortable than just standing out here all day."

"Tell us about Cloud," I insisted.

I was being stubborn, I knew, but I loved him. And if what she was saying was true, that he'd been sick or hurt when she'd seen him before, I wanted to know why and what had happened. Especially if there was a connection to that mission he'd gone on with Zack all those years ago when we'd first met. Whatever it was, I had to find out.

Cloud shouldered his swords and motioned for me to back off. "It's okay, Jessie. We'll hear what she has to say in town."

"Alright…" I sighed, giving in.

"This way, then," Cissnei motioned for us to follow her.

Before we could, though, Tifa looked worriedly at us. "Wait… how did Reno and Rude know we were coming?"

"Good question," I shivered.

"They were definitely waiting for us," Aerith added.

Cloud folded his arms in front of him. "Yeah. That means someone must've tipped them off, told them we'd be here."

"A spy?" Tifa wondered. "No way…"

I had to agree. "Gotta be. Cloud, remember what your friend said? That Rufus had a plan to attack us from within?"

"Yeah," he said. "But… I trust all of you. Everyone."

"I don't like it either," I agreed.

Then Cloud turned to Cissnei again and frowned. "Come to think of it, how did you know we were coming? You never did answer Rude's question. Did someone tell you about us, too?"

"I did get a heads up about you, yes," she admitted. "But I promise, it wasn't meant to cause you any trouble. Only to help you. That's why I was also told about Reno and Rude, that they'd be waiting for you. So I could stop them, you see. And now you know."

"Who's your source?" Cloud asked.

Cissnei shook her head. "Sorry, I can't tell you that. I was asked not to. But I was given more information that I'm willing to share with you, intelligence about Shinra, if you'd like to hear it."

Cloud nodded. "Alright. Go ahead."

"Tseng and Scarlet will be here tomorrow morning," she explained. "To inspect the wreckage of the nearby reactor. Scarlet's on the hunt for something, you see. Something she wants very badly."

"What's she looking for?" I frowned.

Cissnei shrugged. "I don't know. My source didn't say. Just that she needs it for a superweapon she's building."

I clenched my fists. "Then we can't let her find it."

"Sounds like a little eavesdropping is in order," Aerith suggested.

"Never did kick the habit," I smirked.

Cissnei smiled. "Okay. I'll take you there first thing in the morning and we'll see what we can find out. In the meantime, let's go. There are some friends I'd like you to meet while you're here."

"Alright," Cloud agreed.

So we went down the road into town. It wasn't really all that much more than a village, a cluster of round brick buildings with grass-lined dirt streets running between them. The roofs were mostly cones made from dark gray shingles with chimneys on one side. As we passed by a cemetery to our left, Cissnei explained bit about the town and pointed past it to the blasted, ruined husk of a mako reactor rising up above the surrounding woods just a mile or so to the south. Fragments of it were scattered all over town, half-buried in the ground.

"Shinra built the reactor here years ago," she said. "And they didn't bother to take the proper security precautions when they did. So it was a time bomb, an accident just waiting to happen."

I wasn't a bit surprised. "I can imagine. They've always been cheap, and their safety standards are a joke. Bare minimum, if that. So I can't really say I'm surprised it blew up in their faces."

Cissnei sighed. "That's pretty much exactly what happened, Jessie. One day, there was an overload in mako storage that ruptured the core and led to massive systems failure which caused the reactor to explode. Most of the workers were killed, and shrapnel and debris were thrown here during the blast, taking even more lives."

"Damn…" Cloud swore.

"And as a result, the survivors gave up using mako and use natural sources of energy instead like oil, wind, and even the sun," Cissnei said. "Shinra mostly leaves them alone these days."

Tifa glanced at her. "How long have you been here?"

She slid a hand through her coppery red hair. "Only a few months, but I've come to care a lot about this place."

"That's why you came out to stop us," Cloud replied.

Cissnei nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want any of you to get hurt, and as I told Reno and Rude, the people here have seen enough trouble. They don't need any more. They just want to be left alone."

Aerith smiled. "We don't mean you or them any harm."

"I know," Cissnei said, returning the favor. "That's why I wanted to introduce you to my friends. And have dinner together, too. They gave me a job in their shop when I first came here, helped me get set up so I could make a living in this town and have a home. My house is further down the street from theirs, but I visit often."

"Looking forward to meeting them, then," I grinned.

She grew serious again for a moment as we walked up to a modest house on the northern side of town. "There's just one thing. They don't know what I am, what I was. That I used to be a Turk. I'd like to keep it that way. They've been really good to me, like the parents I never had. I haven't known them very long, but I care about them."

Aerith gazed knowingly at her. "You were an orphan?"

"Yeah," Cissnei said.

"I'm sorry," Cloud told her.

She nodded. "Thanks. And although you can call me Cissnei, that's not actually my real name. I don't share it often."

"We understand," Tifa assured her.

I blinked, remembering what Minerva had told me in that strange dream I'd had back in Costa del Sol. So this was who she'd been talking about. And as I thought about that, the last of my doubts about Cissnei fell away, and I knew I could trust her. She stepped up to the house and knocked lightly but firmly on the front door.

A moment later, it was opened by a middle-aged woman in her late forties. When she saw Cissnei, she smiled warmly. "Cissnei, why hello! It's good to see you. Are these your friends?"

"Yes," she answered. "Visitors from out of town. I'm showing them around for a bit and thought I'd introduce you."

The woman beckoned to us. "In that case, please come in."

We followed her inside to find a simple but comfortable home with wood floors, soft rugs, and sturdy furniture. The woman called for her husband as we came in, and he joined us a moment later from an office in the adjoining room. His short black hair was streaked with gray, and although he was about fifty, he still looked strong.

"John, we have visitors," his wife told him. "Friends of Cissnei."

He looked curiously at us through his round glasses. "Really? Well, then, welcome. Please, make yourselves at home. Cissnei hasn't been in this town all that long, but she's been good to everyone here. Especially us. She's been helping us run our store just down the road and has been doing a fine job of it. Any friends of hers are ours, too."

Aerith grinned. "We appreciate that."

"This is John and Maryann Fair," Cissnei said, introducing them. "I haven't gotten all my new friends names' yet, though."

I offered my hand. "Jessie Rasberry."

John shook it. "Pleased to meet you, Jessie."

"Likewise!" I said. Then I gestured to my friends. "That's Tifa, and that's Aerith. And the quiet one there is Cloud."

As I'd expected, Cloud just nodded in greeting, but Aerith and Tifa both shook John and Maryanne's hands. We all had a seat in the family room on the sofa and chairs and chatted for a bit, getting to know each other, and soon, Maryanne invited us to stay for dinner as Cissnei had suggested. None of us had any objections, so we all agreed. But then, as Maryanne was getting up to head to the kitchen, John glanced at Cloud again as if only just getting a good look at him.

"Sorry, I don't mean to stare, but… are you a SOLDIER?" he asked. "That glow in your eyes, it's just like theirs."

Cloud nodded. "I used to be. How'd you know?"

"I've met a few of them over the years, but that's not why I brought it up. Maryanne, Cloud here was a SOLDIER once. So maybe… do you think he might know? Maybe he could tell us…"

She hurried over to him, her eyes on Cloud now. "Oh, you're right, John! I see it now, the way his eyes glow. Cloud, did you know our son? He packed his bags and left almost ten years ago."

John looked eagerly at us. "He left to join SOLDIER, but we haven't heard from him in a long time. His name was Zack."

My eyes widened as Tifa stifled a gasp of surprise and Aerith's face paled in shock. It couldn't be… could it? I looked again at Mr. Fair and focused on the memories of that day so many years ago. And as I did, I recognized the strong resemblance to the Zack I'd met so briefly in the Shinra Building—the open, friendly face, clear blue eyes, and jet black hair. It was him. There was no denying it.

Cloud winced as if in sudden pain, then shook his head. "I… don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't remember him."

"Zack…" Aerith breathed.

"Young lady, do you know him?" John asked.

Maryanne looked hopefully, almost desperately at her. "Zack wrote to us about six or seven years ago, all excited and talking about this girl he'd gotten involved with. Could it have been you?"

"It can't be…" she murmured.

Then she hurried out of the house. Maryanne watched her go, then turned to Tifa. "Maybe it was you, then?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not…"

Then she left, too, rushing out after Aerith. Maryanne's eyes fell on me next. "Was it you? Were you Zack's girlfriend?"

"I… I'm sorry…" I sighed.

Then I brushed past Cloud and went out the door.

I just stood there for a moment after the girls left. "What happened to you three? What's going on here…?"

Cissnei looked as surprised as I felt, and I could tell she hadn't had any more of an idea that Jessie, Aerith, and Tifa would react so strongly to Zack being mentioned than I had. And as I thought about it, I found it hard to believe that none of them was the girl his mom had asked us about. Maryanne and her husband shared a long, confused glance with me and Cissnei, then promised to let us know when dinner was ready. In the meantime, I decided to go outside as well and see if I could find out what the girls knew about this Zack guy.

I found Jessie first. She was dead ahead, right across the street with her eyes on the shattered ruins of the reactor, the light breeze tossing a few strands of her long, loose auburn hair around her face. I really did like the new style she'd adopted—it looked nice hanging freely past her shoulders instead of up in the ponytail she always used to wear except at night in bed. But she herself looked troubled.

"Jessie…" I said.

She turned and looked at me. "Hey, Cloud. Don't need to ask what you want to know. I've already got a pretty good idea. But… there isn't much to tell, really. I… never really knew him."

"But you've seen him before," I realized.

"Only in passing," Jessie admitted. "When I worked at Shinra."

I raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She nodded, but it was shaky. "Yeah… I was a little surprised, that's all. But enough about me, what about you?"

I recognized the diversion for what it was but decided not to press her about it. Although Jessie was acting casual, hearing about Zack had shaken her enough that she wasn't doing quite as good a job at it as she normally did. It must've really been on her mind for it to have affected her like that. There was more going on than what she'd told me, I didn't doubt it—I knew her well enough by now to understand that when she clammed up, something was definitely going on—but I also cared a lot for her and didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"You mean the headache?" I asked instead, shrugging it off. "I feel fine, Jessie. It was just a quick flash, that's all."

"And Zack? You really don't know him?" she wondered.

I shook my head. "No."

Jessie sighed. "Try to remember, Cloud."

I strained my mind and memories to see if I might have met a guy named Zack at one point. It sounded familiar, but… there was nothing there. Just fog. I couldn't help feeling like I was overlooking something, though. That I should know him, even though I didn't even fully know myself. I didn't want to disappoint Jessie, but I just couldn't remember, as much as I wanted to. As if something was in the way.

"Sorry…" I said at last. "I wish I could."

She patted my arm. "It's okay. I'm sure it'll come with time. But for now, could you give me a little space, please?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Tifa was just up the road a bit, lost in thought as she sat amidst the grass. When I approached her, she looked up at me but didn't stand, so I had a seat next to her instead. She was clearly uneasy, with her hands clasped together in her lap. Neither of us said anything yet, and I found myself wondering how she could've known this Zack person. Had they met sometime after I'd left Nibelheim?

I broke the silence first. "Do you know Zack?"

"No, never met him!" Tifa insisted, shaking her head.

"Your face tells me differently," I said, not missing how quickly and abruptly she'd answered and how red her cheeks were getting. "You're a great cook, Tifa, but not such a good actress."

She looked away. "It's true, Jessie's the performer, not me, but… I'm telling you, I… I don't know any Zack."

"Alright," I sighed, giving in.

Tifa was lying, that was so blatantly obvious even I could see it, but I knew that for whatever reason, I'd never get the truth out of her, or at least not right now. So I decided not to press her about it, knowing that she was probably afraid of what might happen when and if I found out. When she changed the subject, I played along.

"You know, Cloud, that sounds just like you," Tifa said, giving me a small smile. "Leaving home, running off to join SOLDIER, trying to go to the big city and make a name for yourself…"

"There were a lot of guys like that back then," I agreed.

She gazed at me with a respect I'd never seen before. "You're really something, you know, actually making it into SOLDIER out of a group like that. Something to be proud of. I know I am."

I nodded. "Thanks. Wasn't much, but I worked hard for it."

"Don't be so humble," Tifa teased. "Guess it really paid off, though, didn't it? Thanks for coming to check on me, Cloud."

"I was worried about you," I shrugged.

She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I know. But I'll be fine. I think you should try to find Aerith, though. She went down the street in the other direction, back the way we came."

I stood up again. "Yeah. It seemed to hit her the hardest."

It didn't take too long for me to find Aerith. As Tifa had said, she'd gone in the other direction. After passing Jessie and tilting my head in her direction to acknowledge the little wave she gave me, I went on and saw Aerith standing by herself at the street corner further down, lost in thought as she quietly watched the townsfolk walking home or to work or wherever else they happened to be going.

"Zack…" she murmured.

I walked up to her. "Aerith? You okay?"

She nodded as she turned to face me. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. It was just a bit of a shock, that's all. I had no idea this was his hometown. He never really said where he came from."

"So you knew him?" I asked.

"I thought I told you, way back in Evergreen Park," Aerith replied. "He was my first love. Zack, SOLDIER First Class. Just like you, Cloud. I bet the two of you would've been best friends!"

I shrugged. "Maybe. It's strange, though. Not many make it to First Class, but I've never heard of him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "All in the past now. I was just worried because he's been missing for a long time. Zack left on a mission five years ago, some top secret thing he couldn't tell me about, and never came back. I sent him a bunch of letters, but… no answer. Nothing."

"It must be hard, not knowing if he's alive, or…" I sighed.

Aerith blinked and quickly looked away for a moment. "Yeah. It is. I just hope he's alright. Probably found another girl. He was always like that, you know. A real ladies' man and a flirt."

Although she tried to act casual, like Tifa had done, she wasn't very good at it, and I knew she wasn't telling me everything. It sounded as if she was either trying to convince herself of something she knew wasn't true or exaggerating to try and hide something that was true but which she didn't want to tell me for whatever reason.

"But in spite of it, you still care about him," I said.

"Of course," she agreed. "It's been hard, but I don't really mind that I haven't heard from him. I feel for his parents, though. They… they've got to be so worried about him. I just wish…"

I blinked. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Aerith shook her head. "Let's go, Cloud. Oh, you should call Barret and let him know what's going on."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'll do that."

As we headed back to the house, Aerith took a deep breath and let it out. "I think I'll tell Zack's parents who I am, that I was his girlfriend. I… can't give them the answers they're looking for, but I can share with them how happy Zack made me, how nice he was, how much he cared about me and everyone else. I think they'd like that."

"They would," I replied, not missing her initial hesitation. Again, it was as if she knew more than she was letting on.

The pleasant aromas of cooking food wafted out of the house as we came back and Cissnei opened the front door. She smiled and waved to us, beckoning us inside. I let Aerith go in first while I called Barret and filled him in on everything that had happened, from encountering the Turks to Cissnei's intervention to meeting Zack's parents. By the time I was done, Jessie and Tifa had returned as well.

"Got the others up to speed on everything?" Jessie asked.

I put my phone away and nodded. "Just finished, yeah. They're on their way into town now. We'll meet up later and figure out what's next, make a plan for tomorrow. I doubt it'll take very long for us to listen in on Scarlet at the reactor and find out what she's up to, so we should be able to leave here early in the afternoon."

Her expression hardened slightly. "Don't leave me behind when it's time to spy on that bitch, Cloud. I'm going."

"I won't," I promised. "You'll be there, Jessie."

She smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot to me. We oughta let Yuffie come with us, too. She's got a beef with her as well, and you know how good she is at sneaking around and not being seen."

"Alright," I agreed.

"We can work out all the details later," Cissnei said. "I'll help out as much as I can. But in the meantime, let's go enjoy our dinner. Mrs. Fair is a really good cook, I've learned a lot from her."

Jessie laughed. "Lead the way!"

"Oh, and I'd like to talk with you, Tifa, and Aerith alone afterward, if you don't mind," Cissnei continued. She smiled apologetically at me. "No offense, Cloud. Just girl stuff. Gongaga's a pretty small town, and I don't have very many friends my age around here."

"None taken," I assured her.

Jessie took Cissnei's shoulder. "I'll be there."

"And me," Tifa added.

"Thanks," Cissnei said. "We can go over to my house. Like I said, it isn't far from here. It's small, but it's home. You're welcome to spend the night, too, if you want. I don't get to entertain guests very often, and I'd enjoy the company. It's up to you, though."

Tifa smiled. "I'd like that. I think it sounds fun."

"Definitely!" Jessie smirked.

With that, we followed Cissnei inside. Aerith was already in there, talking with Mr. and Mrs. Fair as she helped them set the table despite their insistence that she sit down and let them handle it. From the way they were looking so warmly at her and fussing over her—Mrs. Fair in particular—as if she were their daughter, I knew she'd revealed to them her relationship to Zack and how good he'd been to her. Aerith was the only connection to him they had, and they doted on her. She seemed a little overwhelmed by it at first, but also happy.

I felt for them, too.

"So…" Cissnei said, settling onto a chair she taken from her table. "Thanks for coming, all of you. I'm glad we could have this time to get to know each other a little. Especially since…"

Aerith, who sat next to me on the sofa, noticed how she trailed off. "What's on your mind, Cissnei? We're listening."

"It's just, all three of you met Zack," Cissnei said.

"You can tell?" I asked.

She chuckled. "The way you reacted to his name pretty much gave it away. And I'm a trained observer. I notice things."

Tifa sat in another chair. "Well, you're not wrong. We have."

"You knew him, too, Cissnei?" Aerith wondered.

"Yeah," she admitted.

As we all relaxed in Cissnei's house and sipped our drinks, she told us about working with Zack at Shinra, though she didn't go into much detail. Dinner at John and Maryanne's place had been good, and after it was over, the four of us had come here while Cloud had met the others at the inn. Aerith also had promised Zack's parents that she'd visit them again before we left town. I was happy for her and glad that she'd found something of a family here in Gongaga. She had Elmyra, of course, but John and Maryanne had all but adopted her as well.

Cissnei smiled at Aerith when she was finished. "So, I hear you and Zack used to be an item, Aerith. Is that right?"

"Yeah," Aerith nodded. "We were together for quite a while. I loved him, and he loved me, too. Always made me laugh. I miss him, Cissnei. Even though I, well… nevermind. Bottom line is, he still means a lot to me. Zack's been gone a long time, left for that mission and never came back. It's been five years now… but you know, the real thing of it is, I've actually gotten used to him being… away."

I slid my arm around her shoulder. "I know, Aerith. That's why you just gotta treasure those memories, same as you always used to tell me about Kunsel when I stayed with you for a while after leaving the plate. Maybe it's time you took your own advice, eh?"

She laughed. "Yeah, Jessie. I've always tried to. Those times are still very special to me, the days I spent with Zack. Thanks for cheering me up. Usually I'm the one doing that for everyone else."

"Glad to return the favor!" I grinned.

"By the way, how did you meet Zack?" Aerith wondered.

I took a sip of my drink. "By luck, really. I was still at Shinra at the time and saw him in the lobby one day…"

From there, I told her and the others what I could, though I didn't reveal the identity of the trooper I had collided with. I wasn't sure why, I just felt hesitant to let Tifa know it was Cloud. I guess I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely sure, on the very unlikely off chance that I was wrong. Kunsel had mentioned before I'd left Midgar that he'd known him in those days, but even so, that still didn't prove for certain that he was the young soldier I remembered.

I knew in my heart that he was, of course—Cloud's soft, sexy voice matched the one from my memory perfectly—but I didn't feel that was a strong enough basis for me to tell Tifa about it. There were too many questions without answers. If I had told her, though, maybe it might've changed what happened later on. Things might not have gone so badly wrong if I had just said something sooner.

Cloud and the others don't blame me, of course. They never have. I still wonder about it sometimes, though. What might've happened if I'd shared what I knew before everything began to fall apart. Cloud might not have had to find out the truth about himself the hard way. What he did at the temple—what he was forced to do, and what led to me doing what I felt I had to do in return—might have been avoided. But maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Telling this story's supposed to be about us letting go of our regrets as well as helping you.

Anyway, I wrapped up my little tale as Aerith, Tifa, and Cissnei all listened. "I didn't see much of Zack, really. He just kinda peeped out at us from around the corner at the top of the stairs. It was definitely him, though. He reminded the trooper who was helping me that they had to get going. And he flirted with me a little."

"Same old Zack…" Aerith chuckled, shaking her head.

Cissnei smiled. "Yeah. That's him, alright. So what happened next, Jessie? Did he help you pick up your things?"

"No, I was just about done by then, anyway," I replied. "So I wished him and his friend luck on their mission. I liked that trooper. Couldn't see his face with that helmet, but his voice was very sexy. Helped me to calm down after the shock of meeting Sephiroth."

"Amazing that you happened to be there right when he walked off the elevator," Tifa said. "I don't blame you for being overwhelmed. And considering what he did later in Nibelheim…"

I sighed. "I know, Tifa. Even that day, he felt… cold. Not quite like the rest of us. Maybe if he'd been treated better and not like some kind of experiment, he wouldn't have gone mad."

"I knew him when I was little," Aerith murmured. "Back in the lab. Met him once or twice. He wasn't really so bad back then, just quiet for a boy his age, although he never seemed happy. I can't say I blame him. And… he helped us escape. Me and my mom."

My jaw dropped. "He did? Wow…"

"You're not kidding," Tifa gaped, her eyes wide. "I had no idea your history with him went back so far, Aerith."

"Like I said, I didn't really know him that well," she went on. "More of a passing acquaintance than anything else. I remember trying to get him to play with me once, but he never did. When I look at him now, I can still see that lost little boy I knew, somewhere inside. But there's no saving him. Jenova's hold is far too strong."

Cissnei shivered. "I almost feel sorry for him…"

"I can't…" Tifa sighed.

"Because of Nibelheim," I nodded, understanding. "Nothing wrong with that, Tifa. Not after what he did to you and everyone else that day. That's also where you met Zack, right?"

Tifa swallowed. "Yeah. He was the one who came to town all those years ago with Sephiroth, not Cloud. I didn't get to know him too well, but we became friends. What I don't understand, though, is why Cloud thinks he was there. It doesn't make any sense."

I shrugged. "I wish I knew. But did you notice—"

Before I could finish, there was a knock on the front door. Cissnei got up to answer it while the rest of us waited to see who it was. When she opened the door, we saw Yuffie standing outside, hands on her hips and a snarky grin on her face. Somehow, I wasn't surprised. I'd thought she was staying at the inn with the others, though.

"Hi, guys!" she waved. "Mind if I join ya?"