FicWad

Day One

Yuffie hates school. Of course, she's always hated it, but Midgar High has single-handedly raised the bar for her already high temper.

It's not like she wasn't /trying/. She picked a sleeveless green turtleneck, tan shorts, a light, baggy armwarmer, and faded orange legwarmers over her lucky brown sneakers- an outfit designed to grab attention. She even tied a headband in her hair, a strip of hand-woven, Wutainese cloth, with intricate design and an upside-down heart on each end. This is more a charm than her sneakers; it is one of the only things she had of her mother's, brought from the old country when the Kisaragi clann decided to test the waters overseas.

So, it wasn't like she didn't try to look appealing, despite her stickperson figure. Unfortunately, all the charms in the world would not have alleviated her stress. No amount of Wutainese crafts would have stopped the staring of a first-period English class. No amount of lucky shoes or antcipation or pepped-up confidence would save her from her own clumsiness.

Of course, the black boot shooting into her path didn't help matters any.

Yuffie, caught completely unaware, trips. She falls face-first onto the tile, darts to her feet just as quickly. The damage is done; English class sniggers. Livid, she turns to glare at her culprit and does a double-take.

His hair is /silver/.

He glares back at her, eyes of jade narrowed into slits, his attractive features holding a feline air. He's wearing all black- all /leather/- but his clothes seem worn, tired. Even so, his stance is regal; he is sitting, she is standing, and it still feels like she is being looked down upon.

"What's your problem!?" she snaps, pretty face a scowl. Her hands are balled up into fists, and her palms itch; she really wants to hit him.

"I simply find your clumsiness irritating," he informs her, voice cold and eyes fiery.

"My /clumsiness/!?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Did-!" She can't believe it. He's really going to deny his hand in her fall? "You tripped me!"

"It's not my fault you are terribly unobservant," he retorts, eyes half-lidded and eyesbrows raised.

She throws a punch, which he catches easily. He yanks her down, nose-to-nose, and she can feel her cheeks warm at the sudden proximity.

"Listen, Kisaragi," he hisses, "you are not on Wutainese soul, and will not have the comfort of your father's riches for much longer. I suggest you learn what people here choose to see, lest you wander blindly through enemy territory."

Hate pools in her stomach, her heart, shooting all the way to her fingertips. He's noticed, obviously, how Wutai Energy has been quickly declining in quality and assets. He's telling her that she doesn't velong here, that nobody's going to help her because they are all her enemy.

She only has one enemy that can take the form of hundreds.

"Shinra /dog/!" She growls, tearing her hand from his grip. The silver-haired boy merely eyes her, his expression wary.

Suddenly, a voice as soft as it is hard cuts through the tension.

"Kadaj."

They whip their heads around to find the source of the deep, velvety voice, and Yuffie spots the most beautiful man she's ever seen. His skin is pale underneath his short, raven locks. Vivid are his cobalt irises, somewhat more cold than the silver-haired boy's- /Kadaj's?/- now detached emerald. He's wearing a black turtleneck and matching slacks and Yuffie ponders absently if heat does not affect the people of this school. The man looks almost bored; she can see a slight slant in his eyes, and wonders if he is Wutainese.

"Have you already shown hostility to Miss Kisaragi?"

"Merely introducing myself, sir."

"Peacefully?"

"Of course.

"Then why is her cheek bruised?"

Kadaj doesn't reply. A girl in the front with short, feathered brown hair speaks up in a reedy, matter-of-fact voice. Somehow, Yuffie gets the distinct impression that she sounds older than she looks.

"Mr. Valentine, she stumbled on her way up and took it out on Kadaj. It is understandable that she would not want to appear foolish on her first day."

"WHAT?" Yuffie stamps her foot with impatience. "I did NOT fall on my own! Kadaj-"

"Miss Kisaragi," Mr. Valentine cuts in, a sword through butter, "kindly take your seat. We're running late as it is."

"But-!"

He's already doing rollcall. She flops into her seat- near the front, next to an empty chair- and feels immensely powerless.

Weak.

Just smile, right? Like Aerith...

She tries it out, but the expression twisting her face feels almost foreign. She realizes that the blond girl in front of her is giving her a strange look.

"What?" Yuffie snaps, her lips curling into a frown.

"Weirdo," the girl sneers, turning to face front.

`x---

It is disgusting to see women clinging to his father's arm, vying for his affection. Even more putrid is watching as Crescent comes on to Hojo under the pretense of asking for help. She teaches first-year science; he teaches seniors. It seems like an innocent enough setup, but Shinra eyes don't miss brushes of the hand, touches on the arm.

Rufus sits with an ankle on his knee in the back of the class, chin up and head held high. His icy gaze is relentless in its scrutiny, picking up the little things that would normally be passed over by untrained eyes. The two teachers, the girl actually trying to study, the black and silver speaking in low voices.

A piece of intricately folded paper flits onto the desk. He glances to his left, at Tseng, who taps a note on his own desk.

Reeve says it's from Kyahaha.

Rufus rolls his eyes. He saw Scarlet writing it, too. He had been hoping that it was intended for Tseng or Nero or, hell, even Reeve.

He catches Scarlet's eye, and she smiles with a silent giggle (near Tseng, Reeve mimicks, 'kyahaha' in a ridiculously falsetto voice). Never looking away, Rufus takes the note and unfolds it, despite the somewhat dull urge to feed it to the cat Sith that Reeve once brought to work; Scarlet is also an employee at Shinra, and may have quite fickle loyalty, should her feminine ego be bruised.

Lunch outside today?

Rufus almost laughs outright. Lunch is always outside. Does she think that he'll go looking or waiting for her just because she's written that?

He gives her a slight nod, eyes sparkling with mirth that casts a shadow of suspicion across her face. Regardless, she is satisfied, and turns to the front.

Tseng snickers, looking away from Rufus' red-headed admirer. Silver-haired Yazoo watches, a frown on his face. In the front, beautiful Lucretia leaves with a slight bowing of the head and crimson in her cheeks. Science class will start, another wasted hour. Rufus wonders how the Wutai brat is fairing, having 'helped' her with her timetable.

`x---

Yuffie stares at a sheet of paper, aghast.

It can't be real.

The numbers and the letters are like an alphanumeric death sentence. She reads them again and again, each repetition raising her panicked disbelief.

This... isn't real!

English, Phys Ed, Science, Math. Valentine, Wallace, Valentine, Valentine. Not so bad, except for the damning gossip Elena, the blonde from homeroom, had chose to bestow upon her.

"Look, Kisaragi, here's some advice," she had said, after Yuffie was pulled out of soccer for constantly sending the ball at Kadaj's head. "You need to learn how to suck it up."

Yuffie was about to explode at that point, but Elena seemed to have experience with short tempers; she continued quickly, strong.

/"First off, Kadaj is- well... 'Problem child' is an understatement. His classes are /always taught by Valentine, who is the only one who can get that guy to chill out.

"Next, Shelke Rui- that girl who told you off? She is also in Valentine's classes- she's a huge/ fan. She'll take any opportunity to one-up anyone who might steal her thunder. He's all she thinks about."/

Final straw, headshot, kiss of death. Valentine is all over her timetable. The means Shelke and Kadaj are, too.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this, because I could get fired just /talking to you... I hate Kadaj and those Tsviests so much/, though..."

Yuffie remembers with startling clarity the unsure, appraising look Elena gave her.

I should just let you guys fuck each other up. You should grateful."

Yuffie had almost attacked then, but class was over and all were dismissed for lunch. She had hurried to her locker, thrown in her gym clothes, and dug out the godforesaken paper that condemned the remainder of her freshman year.

She groans, sinking to her knees, slumping forward into her locker.

"Yuffie!"

Melodius and ever welcome, the voice belongs to a sight for sore eyes.

"Tifa!" Yuffie grins, leaping to her feet and bounding over to fling her arms around the older girl.

"I haven't seen you for the longest time!" Tifa smile warmly, brows furrowed with worry. "What were you doing? Are you alright?"

The younger girl groans dramatically, slamming her locker door shut and following Tifa to the cafeteria. "I just found out that all of my classes are with this guy, /Kadaj/," she complains, considering the silver-headed boy to be the greater of two evils.

"Kadaj..." Tifa wrinkles her nose. "Him and those Tsviets..."

The name rings a bell. "Tsviets?"

"Like a gang," Tifa ecplains, waving her hand lightly. Her eyes are far off. "Kadaj and his brothers- Loz and Yazoo- are a big part of it. Their eldest brother, Sephiroth, is pretty much the leader. A lot of them work for Shinra, too."

Yuffie mulls the new information over, and they enter the lunchroom. She spots pink, black, and blond; all gang thoughts are forgotten as her heart starts a strange sort of pitter-patter.

"Cloud!"

He looks up and smiles at her; beside him, Aerith smiles, too, and a black-haired boy eyes her. She pays no mind; Cloud's wearing a pair of black denim shorts and an intensely flattering white muscle shirt and she's quietly thanking God and Buddha and Leviathan for the heat affecting /him/.

"Hey, stick-girl, good to see ya."

She blushes, but retaliates. "Right back atach, Chocobo-head!"

"Pukebucket."

"Shortstop!"

"Shorter-stop."

"Hey! I am not!" She gives him a hit on the arm. He laughs, she laughs.

Aerith stands and gives Yuffie a hug; her chocolate locks- curled or braided or who cares, they're /beautiful/- carry a pleasant, floral scent.

"It's good to have you here, Yuffie."

"Thanks."

"I don't believe you've met Zack before."

She gestures to the black-haired boy next to her. His spikes are less unruly than Cloud's, and he's wearing something similar, except his shirt is black and gives gim a sleek, streamlined look. Aerith at his elbow is wearing a soft pink dress and a short, terra-cotta jacket. Her clothes are older, worn like Kadaj's- side by side, however, the two look like movie stars.

Black-haired boy extends his hand toward her. "Zack Fair."

She shakes it with the grip of a business heiress. "Yuffie Kisaragi."

Tifa claps a hand on her shoulder and presents to her an apple. "C'mon, Yuffie, you're gonna need some strength if you have to face Kadaj all afternoon."

"Isn't that friendly?"

It's an unfamiliar voice that she's heard somewhere before. They turn and come face-to-face with a trio of silver heads. Kadaj stands next to someone who looks remarkably similar to himself, with longer hair and a more easy-going air. In front of them stands a burlier man who is obviously related. His hair is short, like Zack's, but more slicked back. All three are wearing leather and heavy boots.

"What's it you you, /Loz/?" Tifa's voice is hard, icy. She spits his name as though it is a poison.

The burly brother shrugs slowly, an evil sort of smile on his lips. "Just thought that maybe you'd like to expand your... /friendliness/." He leans forward and pinches her bottom.

The world is silent.

Tifa Lockhart wears a black, leather miniskirt and a white tank top. She also has a black belt in various martial arts.

Loz has the red imprint of a hand on his cheek, and everyone in the cafeteria hears the crack. Yuffie is vocally indignant in Tifa's place.

"Asshole!" She snaps, glaring up at the bigger-than-your-average-junior junior. "Go fuck yourself!"

"Don't talk to him like that," Kadaj hisses, eyes narrowed into slits.

"I'll talk to him however I want!"

"Then he can touch her however he wants!"

"You-!" She stutters, annoyed at the turnabout. "That's totally- /different/!"

"Shame I can't nitpick at the small things like an old crone," he sneers. "Maybe then I'd understand why your mother would sacrifice so much for such a fool."

At first, she wonders how he could possibly know- but a better question would be, how could he not? Wutai Energy had been the target of more than enough media coverage and scrutiny, from the immigration to the unorthodox methods to the tragedies. Headling after headling. LADY KISARAGI DEAD. LADY KISARAGI FIGHTS FOR CHILD. LADY KISARAGI INTERRED IN WUTAI.

Story of her fucking life. And this insensitive boy had chosen to cross that line. Yuffie can just envison tomorrow's headline: KISARAGI HEIRESS KILLS TSVIET MEMBER.

`x---

"Rufus."

"Mm."

"You're not eating."

"I know that."

Rufus doesn't move. Despite his best attempts not to, he's thinking about /her/. The insolent little brat of Wutai. He can't help but wonder why she would want to transfer so late in the school year. She can't help but wonder if she's suffering.

He hopes she is. He hopes she is regretting her major social faux pas. In fact, hope means nothing to a Shinra, because what they want to happen happens. He knows she's suffering. She can't possibly be enjoying herself with the peers she's been stuck with. Still, he's feeling unsettled.

She's fifteen years old and from a different country- she can't have some sort of menacing reason for the late transfer.

She's the heiress of Wutai Energy, his business-appointed rival. She can and does have an ulterior motive.

But what?

"I've been thinking about Kisaragi."

Rufus looks up; Tseng is leaning against the edge of the roof, a can of Coke hanging from his long fingers. He's wearing black jeans and a black shirt with white characters emblazoned on the back.

"You could use her."

The thought had crossed his mind. Rufus isn't sure if she'd be a reliable source.

"Of course, her information may not be reliable..."

Rufus smirks. He's used to this. Tseng isn't his right-hand man for brawns- though it does help when the young Shinra doesn't want to /get his hands dirty/.

"She's a little girl. It wouldn't be difficult to detain her while we verified her info."

Tseng nods, taking a sip of his soda. "She's frail."

"Weak."

"Delicate."

"Enervated."

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves, are we?"

Rufus laughs. "Of course not. Simple word association, that's all."

Tseng joins in the chuckles, but the two fall silent as the door to the roof swings open. It is Valentine, a frown marring his ever frigid features.

"Rufus. Tseng. You two know the roof is off limits."

It's not a question. It's never a question.

"I'm well aware of that, Valentine."

"Your status does not exempt you from the rules."

Rufus smiles, cold and ersatz. "Neither does yours."

He never breaks the gaze, watching to see if today the man will slip and allow something to flit through his eyes. Tseng is the only one who looks when a girl jogs up the steps.

"Mr. Valentine, there- there's a fight in the cafeteria!" She states, breathless. "Kadaj and the new girl!"

Rufus looks at her at the same time the teacher does. He follows as well. He recognizes her as the younger Rui sister- Shelke or Shalua, he can't remember which one.

"Out of nowhere," she explains, "the girl started yelling at him and his brothers!"

Valentine merely nods, his steps swift.

By the time they arrive, the cafeteria is a writhing mass of yelled profanities and cheering. A circle has been formed; somewhere on the far side, he can hear Reno's voice, calling for bets. Tseng chuckles. He and Rufus stand and watch as the presence of Valentine disperses the crowd.

In the center is a ring that stands virtually undisturbed; at one end, Strife, Fair, Lockhart and Gainsborough are all on their feet. At the other, Yazoo and Loz are reclining on chairs. The display of concern is almost commical in its diversity: Yazoo, Loz and Fair seem downright /bored/, especially compared to Gainsborough, Strife and Lockhart, the latter two looking as though they are waiting for an opening to step into.

Right in the middle, Kadaj and Yuffie are going at it with an almost startling ferocity. She is all fists and feet and nails; he counters easily, effortlessly, but she has a speed that's keeping him occupied.

He snarls and throws her down. She sneers, clawing at his face as she kicks him back. They are a tangled mess of arms and legs and curse words. Valentine steps forward and seperates the two as though he is pulling a puzzle piece from another. As soon as they're aware of the situation, he allows his arms to drop to their sides.

"Midgar High has a zero-tolerance policy on violence."

Yuffie is breathing hard. She's eyeing Kadaj like he just murdered her father and spat in her face. Kadaj's expression is no less wrathful. Rufus is surprised; he doesn't think he's ever seen Valentine feel the need to repeat himself.

"Midgar-"

"I /know/!" Yuffie snaps. "God!"

Rufus bites back his laughter; the look on Rui's face is absolutely priceless.

Valentine sighs. "Kadaj?"

Kadaj doesn't break the death grip of a stare with Yuffie. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he nods.

"You two are dismissed from the school grounds until further notice."

"WHAT?"

"But, Mr. Valentine-!"

He raises a silencing hand. "Zero tolerance, Strife, Lockhart."

Tseng murmurs to Rufus, "time to go, boss?"

Rufus nods. They quietly make their way to the cafeteria's far exit. On the way out, he catches Yuffie's eye and snickers. He can hear her growl of frustration as he ascends the steps to his next class.

`x---

Tears burn at her eyes and she doesn't care. There are bruises on her face and she doesn't care. It really, really hurts to move her pinky finger and she doesn't care. THe only thing that matters is gouging out all those infuriatingly cold eyes that seem to surround her. Kadaj, Valentine, and King Sub Zero Rufus.

She storms through the halls, her teacher-appointed escort trailing serenely behinf her. As if things aren't bad enough, she has to have Shelke Rui ghosting her every move.

"You're heading the wrong way."

Yuffie turns on her heel and, hands on her hips, glares at the girl. "So I am, huh? Listen, I know exactly what I'm doing, and I don't need any, like, bullshit lectures, okay?" I'll get enough of them from dear ol' dad.

"No, I meant, the door you're leaving through is that way." Shelke points at a hall to her left, and Yuffie's cheeks warm with embarassment. She could have sworn she was going the right way, but this school is devoid of friendly landmarks and- God /forbid/!- a decipherable map.

"Oh," she mutters lamely. Yuffie heads off in the pointed direction and pushes her way out the exit door. Her anger-induced high has some soft spots at the edges. The sun is bright, and she uses her hand as a visor to shield her eyes.

It's the only thing she's able to shield. A scuffle, a burst of pain; Yuffie Kisaragi's world goes black, and she's down with the ship.

`x---

Rufus has decided that a nap on the roof will be more fruitful than a nap in English, so that's where he is, standing on the top of the school, king of the quiet, nine-to-five world. The wind ruffles his silky, blond hair, but Rufus Shinra was raised to be unflappable, so he looks no more bothered than usual.

He walks the perimeter of the roof, feeling strangely at peace with the gentle air, the tops of the swaying trees. THere is a sort of calming serenity that being up here brings him, always has been. It worries him, now, that he's feeling agitated. Like he is not alone, not safe.

Like he is /being watched/.

At that moment, perfect timing turns him around a corner, and he has a clear, bird's-eye view of an abduction. He sees black hoodies and a flash of red. He sees dark brown hair and the heart-shaped ends of a headband made by Wutainese hands.

What... is this?

Yuffie isn't moving. She's being carried away. Mentally, Rufus goes through all the possibles things that can be happening, all the actions he can take, and the subsequent consequences for-

Someone's here, he realizes too late. An arm hooks around his neck and yanks him backward. A rough, growl of a voice hisses in his ear.

"Hey, boss."

Then wet rag against his face. Burning nose.

Darkness.

`x---

No, no, she had told them, I'll be fine on my own. The two had grudgingly complied and went along with the fourth's plan. She hoped that those deep brown eyes would not hold anger for any longer.

She opens up shop.