Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

FIFTY-TWO

"Jessie!" Yuffie's excited shout cut through the quiet of the gardens like a thunderbolt. "You gotta see this!"

I stood up as she ran toward us. "What is it?"

She grinned. "Check it out and see! It's from Hiroshi!"

"He's alive?" I gasped.

"It's not like that, although I hope he is," Yuffie panted as she came to a stop. She handed me the letter. "He sent it to my dad five years ago just before we lost contact with him."

I took it and started to read. "I see... this could really be a big help, Yuffie. Did your dad give this to you?"

"Yeah, he surprised me for once," she smiled.

As I read Hiroshi's letter, my eyes widened and I fell more than sat back down onto the stone bench, so stunned I could barely even think for a moment. I could hardly believe what I'd just found out. As Cloud sat next to me on my right, I looked over at him.

"Cloud... Hiroshi was at Nibelhiem! Had to be!" I breathed. "And I know you told us Sephiroth killed almost everyone in town, but maybe Hiroshi managed to survive just like you and Tifa."

"It's possible," Cloud admitted, although he didn't look convinced. "Zangan did say in his letter to Tifa that there were others who made it through that night alive. But Hojo and his men turned them into those guys in the black robes. Sephiroth clones."

I shook my head. "Maybe not all of them."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. "Hiro'd never let himself be put through that hell! He'd sooner die than be Shinra's plaything!"

"Then why's no one seen him in five years?" Cloud asked.

She sighed. "I don't know..."

"What's the Kanshi Ryu?" I wondered.

"They're the Silent Dragon, an order of elite special operatives that leads our military and answers only to the Wusheng," Yuffie explained. "Kinda like what SOLDIER is to Shinra, but without the mako infusion and Jenova crap. They're still really strong, though."

Cloud looked thoughtfully at her. "And a First Sword?"

"I guess it'd be about the same as a SOLDIER First Class," she said. "There aren't very many, either. I remember Shake was so proud when he got promoted. He let her pin his badge on him."

"How sweet!" I smiled.

Yuffie laughed. "Yeah, it was a sight to see, I tell ya. Especially since she had to reach up on her tiptoes to do it."

I looked at the letter again, my eyes widening as understanding hit me like a punch to the face. "Hiroshi got his fake ID from an insider at Shinra. And I think I know who it was!"

"Who?" she wondered.

"Marissa!" I exclaimed, still in shock. "I had no idea. Of course, I'd only just started working for her at the time and barely knew her yet. It makes sense, though, since her husband was so sick and the company's health coverage was a joke. I don't blame her."

Cloud nodded. "It does explain a few things, too. Like how she was able to smuggle the Hardy into the Shinra Building and have it ready to go along with the truck when Barret, Tifa, and I went in there to rescue Aerith. And how she knew Domino would help us."

It made sense. "Yeah. Marissa was with Avalanche all along..."

"I didn't know she could make fake IDs, though," he said.

"Who do you think taught me how?" I laughed. "It did surprise me at first. It was almost a year after I'd started working there, and we had gotten to know each other pretty well and trusted each other. Now that I think about it, she showed me how to do a lot of little things like that when I was there. But I never knew why until now."