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Wellspring Arms & Meditation Centre, Wednesday

Another day, another e-mail.

Ino was curled up in the chair—that was still way too huge for her—with a blanket over her lap and was still working on e-mails. She hadn’t actually sent any yet, which was slightly frightening, but Ino had finished the one and then realized that if she didn’t write another that it would be weird and kinda uncomfortable.

And then she had another one to do after that.

If nothing else, at least it kept her occupied?

Wellspring Arms is Open.

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Who is there.

Today was a 'checking up on people' day.

That was Reno's story, and he was going to stick to it. Which was why he was ambling into the Wellspring Arms today, casual as all get-out with his hands crammed into his pockets. The look on his face was maybe a bit worried. If you squinted.

"Rookie," he greeted, nodding her way once he was inside. "Didn't get a chance to bug you after class Monday, yo. Thought I'd make up for that now."

She cast a glance at him through her bangs and finished her sentence while responding.

//Ain't in much need of buggin' I don't think.//

Because that was so convincing when you still hadn't said a thing since you'd gotten back, Ino.

To Reno's credit, his only outward reaction to the unexpected voice in his head was a small tic at the corner of his mouth. His experience with telepathy was... nonexistent. Appearances didn't always match actuality, unfortunately, and his guts were doing somersaults, just then.

"You so sure about that?"

She'd feel bad about that, really, but at the same time... well, feeling bad later wouldn't change the fact that she'd done that.

Ino gave him a long look.

//Why shouldn't I be?// she asked, saving the draft and closing out of the program. //I'm at work, in one piece, entertainin' myself...//

In one piece, entertaining herself, and talking into his brain. Some things were a little out of the ordinary today, no matter how casual she was trying to be about it.

"Noticed you were a bit quiet on Monday," Reno said, instead of pointing out the obvious. "An' I know not everybody had it as easy as I did this weekend, yo. Just figured I'd see how you pulled through."

He could do 'more or less straightforward' when it mattered, yes.

//You mean all of us didn't get to watch a child set herself on fire?// It was mocking and yet so completely lacked any amusement whatsoever. //And didn't get to breathe in ash and air worse than Midgar's ever was? Didn't have children laughing but not there only for them to come and burn? Demons. Fire.//

Could she keep being mocking and yet utterly serious?

... Well, yes.

Instead she just gave him a look and resisted the urge to go back into her notebook.

"Radiation sickness, poison food, hallucinogenic air, and murderers, Ino. I said not many people had it as easy as I did. I didn't say it wasn't still fuckin' shitty. I was just used to it."

He was giving her that look right back, now. If she was going to throw it around like that, then he wasn't even going to bother trying to ease into the conversation.

"You ain't okay."

//So what?//

Mutinously. He was the first person that had actually confronted her on it. Zack had been more inclined to hug and just let her be.

//I'm okay enough.//

"And can you look me in the eye, open your mouth, and tell me that?"

Oh yes. Reno was all sorts of confrontational about things like that. Call it a challenge, Ino.

She glared at him.

//I don't want to.//

Jerk. Jeeerk.

"You ain't okay enough, then," Reno replied, simply. Because, really, it was as simple as that, wasn't it?

Well... he certainly thought so.

"An' how's your boyfriend holdin' up?"

It was only kind of non-sequitur. Reno had told her that he was going to see what the Turks could do about the situation that he was in, after all. And he suspected that at least a few of Ino's problems came from having to deal with the SOLDIER punk.

She looked away. Gave him a bit of a shrug.

//He’s smilin’ like he’s happy when he ain’t, but this time I know it’s ‘cause of me, some of it.//

Possibly more of than she gave herself credit for. Ino wasn’t sure. Hadn’t really been in a headspace to know, honestly.

//We’re... dealing?//

That shouldn’t have been a question, Ino.

"Dealing's better than not," Reno replied, eyebrow twitching upwards a little. "You know, I had a talk with Elena last week, too..."

Yep.

Something settled over her like a cloak. A mood, a tension, something that made her eyes darken.

//'bout what?//

And even sub-vocally she sounded wary, almost frightened of whatever he might say.

Reno just stood there, eyeing her for what probably felt like forever.

He counted to thirty seconds in his head. Because he was a mean, mean man.

"Savin' Midgar," he said, finally. "Changin' history. Or the future, I guess. Fuck it, yo. S'what we both decided. Fuck it. We're gonna fix shit."

He was a mean, mean man who was getting a Rookie blinking at him.

She had... not expected that, no.

//No lie?// Because Ino wouldn't put it past him.

"Would I lie to you about shit like that?"

Leave out huge, gaping holes in the truth, sure. But flat-out lie? Naaaah.

"I told you, you got the Turks if you need 'em. Maybe I'll even get the balls to call up Tseng, see if he can help. If he don't, I know Rude will. Maybe not because he cares, but damn it, because he's a Turk, and savin' Midgar was the job."

So was, for that matter, saving Zack.

And Turks got the job done, no matter what. Better several years late and in the wrong reality than never.

Ino studied him with considering blue eyes as her world tried to comprehend that and reorient itself around so that that made perfect sense and didn't leave her feeling flat-footed and confused.

Everything was changing.

//What happened to... not telling me nothin'?//

Reno's smile went wry for a moment, then.

"History ain't goin' the way it should anyhow, Ino. I can't afford to sit back and keep bein' scared shitless of a maybe that won't never touch me or my own home, yo."

Which was... impersonal, yes. Reno was aware of that. But at the same time, the only way to get through this whole thing with his sanity intact was probably going to be as impersonally as possible.

It was something she desperately wanted to believe in. At the same time she was scared to--even if things had sucked (and they had, did) this was more than she'd ever have hoped to get as a concession.

Ino nodded slowly, blinked hard at the sudden urge to cry, and ducked her chin so that her bangs covered more of her face.

//What're we goin' to do then?//

"We got... time," Reno allowed, after a long pause. "Little things, here an' there. Probably won't none of it be pretty, yo."

Deep breath.

"You gotta promise me right here an' now, Rookie, no matter how much you hate what it is we say's gotta be done, we've been there, we know what we're doin'. You'll at least keep that in mind, yo. We're Turks. What we do, it ain't pretty."

The next several years were going to be hell.

As if the last few hadn't already been.

She eyed him.

//I ain't been drinkin' stupid tea, Reno. I know what Turks're the sort to do. I can keep that in mind.//

Of course, that was easy to say when she didn't know a rather earth-shattering bit of information that had the potential to utterly gut her.

Edited 2010-08-16 13:00 (UTC)

How do you say to your Rookie, 'We're going to save Zack,' when you never even had the balls to tell her that he was going to die in the first place?

"Good."

That was going to have to do.

"I'll start thinkin' on it, then. Tseng knows the turnin' points better'n I do. What he wasn't up to his elbows in, I was down an' out for the count through, except for right up closer to the end, yo."

When the Turks had been afraid that Tseng was dead. Tseng probably wouldn't be much help for... pretty much most of what had lead up to Meteorfall, in the last few weeks.

Provided, of course, he decided that he wanted to be of any help at all.

She bobbed her head, feeling a bit--helpless--at everything.

//Anythin' you need to know?// she asked quietly. //That I can--help with?//

"Same as before," Reno replied, smiling faintly. It was one of those completely unreadable smiles that Reno was prone to, from time to time. "Just keep me in the loop, lemmie know what's goin' on in Midgar, and if I need anything else, I'll let you know, Rookie."

She studied him.

That didn't really answer her question. Ino didn't think she'd be able to get a better answer out of him.

//Can I tell Zack?//

Reno pursed his lips a little, and then he sighed, and he shrugged.

"Can't hurt nothin' now, can it? Go on, tell your SOLDIER boy, yo."

That got him a weary sort of nod. Yes, she could tell Zack.

Hurrah.

Ino just needed to figure out how to tell him in the first place.

Mod your zen, or ask Ino to help.

Only with permission.

I get to see the Backstreet Boys in concert tonight. Clearly that is awesome.

BACKSTREET'S BACK ALL RIGHT!

... I was going to reply with zomg lyrics or somethin' but considering the account I'm under, I'll refrain.

Because Rosa would be seriously grumpy if I did that. :)

I am going to be earwormed THE ENTIRE DAY NOW. Oh, BSB.

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Wellspring Arms & Meditation Centre, Wednesday

Talk to Ino

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Meditation Room

Shooting Range

OOC

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