Common Annoyances

Chapter One: Starting a Long Trip Home

After a long six weeks of searching for the source of the distress call that originated in almost the middle of nowhere, the small team was exhausted.

The two Turks, Elena and Reno, were ready to go back and see their coworkers, while everyone else was just ready to be rid of their trouble. The main problem though was Reno. He didn't know when to stop bothering people, and out of the six, the one he seemed to bother the most was the one who craved solitude most.

After hearing the reasons behind the groups' trek through the wilderness, Vincent Valentine had nearly declined to go in the first place. He thought that this objective didn't have anything to do with him and didn't want to intrude on the others' business. After the begging that proceeded from Yuffie Kisaragi though, he was convinced otherwise.

He was now starting to seriously regret that decision. Almost everything had been starting to get on his nerves, and out of that, especially Reno. After so many weeks of the constant annoyance that the one man was, he was ready to be alone. And be alone for a long while. He didn't feel that what they found had proven to be any benefit to him anyway.

He had a deep rooted hatred of all things Shinra, and what they had found was the prodigy of one of the largest Shinra based experiments. In fact, it had been one of the most recognized S.O.L.D.I.E.R. first classes that had been in their ranks. Zack Fair. All Vincent knew of him was that he had been one of Cloud's closest friends in the beginning of his S.O.L.D.I.E.R. career. And Also, that Cloud had watched that friend die, shot down by the very same people that he had devoted himself to for so long.

How this man was alive though was the real mystery to them all. When they set out they didn't expect that they would find anything closely resembling the long dead S.O.L.D.I.E.R. but when they got to the site of the distress signal, a abandoned site deep underground, they saw the lone figure sleeping on the cold floor.

At first Yuffie and Tifa had thought it was a dead man, but upon further investigation, they discovered he was just in a very sound sleep, and proceeded to awaken him. He said he didn't have any memory of what he had been doing for the past several years, or where he had been, but that he too was surprised to be down in an abandoned cavern.

Henceforth, the group decided they could set up camp in the mouth of the cave, figuring that if Zack could sleep in there for who knows how long, being totally unaware, there couldn't be anything too dangerous lurking inside.

Slowly they set their gear up. Everyone was tired from the long day, and all of them were ready to get back to Midgar, especially Tifa who had left behind Denzel and Marlene with Cloud. She hoped they were alright, she hadn't planned on the journey being so long, but she was sure that they, along with the occasional help from Barret, were fine.

Vincent would probably not be returning to Midgar. Everyone knew this in the back of their minds, but no one wanted to talk about it yet. He didn't like the noise of the large city. Even if he go into the city to meet up with everyone, it would be a very short stop for him, and he would be headed out, either to Nibleheim or somewhere else that even he wasn't sure of yet.

Once everyone had most of their things ready, they gathered together for dinner, however small it was. A few cans of beans, some bread, and a freshly killed rabbit, courtesy of Reno and Elena, was their dinner for the night. After each one got their food, except Vincent who seemed to skip meals more often than not, they split into their little groups. The Turks chose a spot not far from Tifa, Yuffie, and Zack, while Vincent moved closer to the entrance of the cave.

While the others talked, he half-listened to their conversation and stared out at the setting sun. He hated being stuck in this cave for the night, though he wasn't sure why. Something in it didn't feel right to him and he wanted to explore it more, but didn't want to stir up more trouble for the rest of the group. He decided he would just have to come back to it later, knowing there was something more to the cave where they had found Zack.