Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]
Cloud knew he should be taking the opportunity to check out the rec field during the day. The fresh air would be a welcome change from the crowded stuffiness the Institute usually provided, and he would have a chance to scope out the area when it wasn't all under the cover of darkness. When offered a choice, however, he remained in the sun room
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In a way, Sheena did feel a bit better after having Ritsuka listen to the stuff that had been swimming about in her mind. Maybe just getting it out, in some form, to a real person and not just the blank pages of a book, was what she needed. As thrilling as playing with a bunch of potted plants would have been, only not really, Sheena chose to stay inside. It was probably for the best given how injured she was. Especially with her hand. Sometimes being ambidextrous was a pain since she normally didn't think about what hand she did things with. Besides, gardening sounded like a two-handed job anyways.
The ninja was on her way to the bulletin board, her movements a bit stiff, when one of the young cats, not quite a kitten but certainly not old enough to be an adult, started doing what cats loved to do - get underfoot. Stopping, Sheena slowly knelt down to pet the furball. Unfortunately for her, the small bell she wore one a string about her neck swung freely as she'd forgotten to hide it once more beneath her shirt.
A dangling, slightly jingling bell and one young cat was a combination made in cute heaven. Unless cute heaven happened to be around the neck of a fairly injured ninja. The cat batted at the bell and managed to snag a claw on the string. The cat the proceeded to struggle at freeing its paw and Sheena, with only one usable hand, really, tried to help and failed.
"Hey, hey! Hold still. I'll get you free if you just--" No luck. Catching a glance of someone nearby, she called out, "Think you can give me a hand before it really starts to freak out on me?"
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Lost in thought, it took Cloud a moment to realize that the woman was directing her pleas at him. "Ah..." He stood quickly once he noticed and got down by her side. "Right. Hold on."
Removing the claw from her necklace was a delicate matter, but not a difficult one. She was freed within the minute, which was good because the cat wasn't entirely cooperative. The blond flexed a newly bitten hand and gave her a wry smile. "Gotta watch out for those."
He allowed her to fix the trinket back up on her own (as he knew better than to ask if she needed help with that) and stood back up. "Everything okay now?"
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Sheena sighed in relief, rubbing her neck a bit before stowing the round bell once again inside her shirt.
"Oh thanks, I thought it was going to start strangling me." Imagine that, a great Mizuho ninja like her being done in by a cat's curiosity. She made a mental note not to mention this to either Yukari or Yuffie. Both of them would tease her merciless for it.
After a moment of rest, Sheena slowly got to her feet and smile at the blonde man. "How's your finger? I'm pretty sure the cats are disease-free during the day."
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He held out his other hand, the one not recently chewed on. Any reason not to dwell on his current problems was a good one. "Cloud Strife. You look like you ran into something nastier than a rogue kitten. Anything I can do?" She looked capable enough, so the question was really more for the sake of politeness than anything else. Though knowing a little more about what enemies they were up against at night never hurt. Yuffie had gathered a lot of information, but other perspectives were always welcome.
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"Nice to meet you, Cloud. I'm Sheena Fujibayshi. Now we have faces to go with the handwriting." She nodded at the couch. "I should... probably sit down."
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"Yes we do." He smiled. "It's a pleasure to actually meet you." People who could get along that well with Yuffie were few in supply. It was good to see that the ninja had made friends while she was here, though it made him wonder what type of person this Sheena was exactly. It also made him wonder if he should be careful with what he said, if only because he might be teased about it later.
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Sheena smiled at Cloud and then blinked. "Woah... she was right about your eyes. That's... unique." Even in the Sun Room she could see an unusual luminescence to them, as if there was a tiny flame flickering within them. Honestly, it made her think of Celsius' eyes, but Cloud didn't look like he was one with a great ice elemental.
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Should he go on to explain that he'd been pumped full of enough of the planet's life force that it would never completely leave his system? That these were the eyes of someone in SOLDIER but he'd never made it that far?
"It just means I was a lab rat, is all." He gave a weak smile. No, it wasn't worth getting into. Not now, anyway. "And it's not like I'm the only one that's like this where I'm from."
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Though in her case, she was the only summoner in both worlds, the first n four thousand years and there probably wouldn't be another one for four thousand years after her. It made her feel... weird. Enough on that.
"...so how'd you meet Yuffie?"
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"What about you?" He wasn't going to ask about her response, about whether she meant she'd been experimented on same as him or not. That wasn't the best topic to get on with someone you hardly knew.
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"On the board, actually," Sheena replied with a gesture toward the bulletin board. "It was one of my first days here. She posted something that later mentioned ninja, so I had to find out what village she was from. Which started the age-old tradition of village rivalry of which was better, Mizuho or Wutai. Of course, Mizuho is better, but she doesn't understand that. One of these days we're going to settle that." The entire time Sheena spoke of the rivalry and settling things, she had a bright smile on her face. Yes, Yuffie was her rival, but she was her friend and the Mizuho ninja knew she could count of Yuffie when needed.
"Oh, that reminds me that she and I need to finish our sign next Arts & Crafts da--"
The ninja's words suddenly cut off as, across the room, she saw an unfamiliar pink-haired woman cry out Yukari's name and then throw herself onto the youkai. What the hell? Eyes narrowed, Sheena's eyebrow twitched and she grit her teeth. Who was that being overly familiar with Sheena's youkai?
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Cloud had been about to continue the conversation when Sheena stopped talking abruptly, and he followed her gaze across the room. As he was unfamiliar with either of the girls he thought she was looking at, and because matters between angry women were best left between angry women, he kept quiet on the matter.
He didn't even ask about what sign she meant, simply waited until she was finished with her glaring.
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"Damn bird," she grumbled as she re-situated herself. Glancing over at Cloud, she blinked. "Uh... what were we talking about?"
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He did keep an eye on her injury with some concern. Truthfully, he was more interested in what had caused it. Her mention of a bird reminded him of what he'd seen on the field the night before. That meant it was possible she'd been one of the combatants. It was a bit late for apologies now, and chances were there wouldn't have been anything he could have done to begin with. Given how long it had taken them to get out, she might have even been attacked before they arrived.
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She then grinned. "It's got glitter and reads 'Love and kisses from Mizuho and Wutai'. The perfect sign for when we make Landel fall to his knees and beg us for mercy. He's already shown he's afraid of what we can do together since he made us both evil the night we were going to do some serious damage to this place."
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"That's great! I might just want to help you out. Talk about boosting morale." He didn't say anything about her admission to being brainwashed along with Yuffie, considering it a topic best not discussed in detail unless the other patient wanted it. Still that was an interesting coincidence to take note of.
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