damned_institute | Day 21: Lunch

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Day 21: Lunch

Hikaru and Kaoru had been so caught up in their little game that they initially hadn't heard the intercom go off. The new "ding" system was far less jarring than the old SCREECH, and as such, wasn't as easily heard, even in a place as quiet as the library. All too soon, the nurses came to separate the twins and take them to the next activity--lunch.

It only felt like a few minutes since breakfast, somehow, and yet Hikaru was starved. The lunch selection was ridiculously Americanized food of the "Pan Asian" genre, as bad as when his family had wanted Japanese food in California and had gone to the "nicest" restaurant in the English language guidebook. He cringed visibly when the surly cafeteria worker poured sauce on his rice--which was supposed to be plain--but...food was food, and he wasn't feeling terribly picky right now. At least it smelled all right.

One of the good things about being the first one into the cafeteria was having his pick of the tables. Hikaru chose one of the larger ones, saving seats for Kaoru, Tamaki, and (in a fit of hopefulness) Haruhi.

He hoped they'd come soon. He hated being alone.

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“I am sorry that Reno did not come to guard you as he had told me he was going to. I had assumed that you would be safe for the night with him.”

Rufus’ lips pressed tightly for a moment, gone the next. In his world, his Turks wouldn’t have left his side, especially to wander around a nuthouse full of monsters at night. It made him wish again for Tseng, someone dependable that would always be at his back. Reno’s decision had been unexpected and therefore a shock of sorts, at least until he reminded himself that these were not his Turks, but a different Rufus Shinra’s.

“I am glad to hear that you had no difficulties.”

When Kadaj sat down, any emotion that Rufus had been showing dropped away, leaving him with a bland expression. Setting his fork aside, he straightened in his chair. Memory was a dark thing, and he hated being reminded of his former weakness when suffering from Geostigma. Reaching up, he unsnapped the side of the sling, sliding it off his arm. The bone itself hadn’t been broken, but the bullet had run from his wrist to elbow. If it hadn’t been for it smashing into his flashlight first, the damned thing probably would have hit harder and gone deeper.

The question now was how to proceed. He had to let Elena fade into the background, keep the remnant focused on him and not give her a reason to get between them. Even as muted as he suspected and Yazoo confirmed that Kadaj was, Rufus was certain that Kadaj would wipe the floor with both of them. Setting the sling aside, he opened and closed his hand for Kadaj’s benefit, ignoring the darts of pain that ran up and down his arm.

“Reno shot me, Kadaj. I’m sure you’re upset that his aim was off. What is it that brings you remnants to me? First Yazoo, now you. I’m starting to think it’s something I’m putting off that keeps drawing you to me.”

Picking up his fork with his right hand despite the pain, he stabbed at one of the noodles with it. In the face of an enemy, there would be no weakness.

"Still going on with your war against the Head Doctor?"

Elena shook her head. "I was fine. Just stayed in my room like a good little girl. It's...you I'm worried about, sir, to be frank. I know what Reno did last night...and I know that it wasn't his fault, because the same thing happened to me a few nights ago. I shot--"

Speak of the devil, and he will come.

The girl stiffened visibly in her chair, clenching a poor, unsuspecting napkin with her good hand until her nails dug into her palm and her knuckles went white. Not him. Not now. Not when she had been doing so well.

She stared straight ahead, face pale and eyes fixed. Kadaj wasn't going to get to her. Elena would let the President deal with him, and only offer her assistance if it became absolutely necessary.

Don't look don't look don't look...

Reno had shot him? It took Kadaj less than a second to figure out that the Turk must have been under special counseling, possibly even shorter than that with such a lovely reminder of the night he had been shot sitting so close to them. He glanced over at Elena again, anger quickly rising. He should have killed her when he had the chance.

It was very hard to keep a straight face when he saw the expression on hers, though, and he snickered softly at her for a moment before going back to ignoring her. Let her suffer a little while longer.

Smiling now, he prodded the food on his plate a few times, shrugging in response to the president's words. "We're naturally attracted to people who need to be destroyed, I suppose... or maybe just the ones that need to be taught a lesson. Right, Elena?"

Another sidelong glance, then he continued. "Yazoo neglected to mention he had spoken to you though, Mister President. Can't say I blame him-- it's been a busy morning. What did you talk about?" He kept his tone light, but inwardly he was seething again. First Yazoo sleeps through an entire night shift against his orders, then he meets with the president without telling him. Maybe he shouldn't have been so lenient with his brother this morning. He would have to fix that later.

Sighing, he gave a sudden stab to his food and added, "The war is still on, of course. You know I can't let something like all of this go unpunished, right Mister President? It's not in my nature to leave behind unfinished business." Yet another pointed glance in Elena's direction. How long would it take for her to crack?

As much as he would have liked to see to Elena, Rufus couldn’t risk it right now. What he had to do was protect his Turks this time around and keep Kadaj focused on him. Were she closer, he would have nudged her with his foot to get her to either go elsewhere or relax some. With her distance, there was nothing he could do.

“We’ve played that game already, Kadaj, and I came out the winner. Let’s not repeat history. After all, from what I understand, you, Yazoo, and I are the only ones from our time. I suppose that’s not entirely true since I had a week after your death to… shall we say… work? The Northern Crater was particularly of interest.”

Setting aside his fork as pain clenched down in his arm, Rufus laid his injured arm across his lap. The last thing he could do was let Kadaj know he was hurting.

“We spoke yesterday in the sunroom after lunch. I would have thought he’d say something to you by now. We didn’t talk about anything important. I had a few questions, and he gave me the answers I wanted. I gave him some advice such as him staying close to you, strength in numbers and all that, and he told me about you sending him to look for an alchemist or the like. I offered him an alternate plan of attack in perhaps getting out of here that involved you, and he chose not to listen.”

Rufus lifted his left shoulder in a slight shrug, the only indication that he wasn’t feeling a hundred percent up to snuff.

“I did offer Yazoo a way in which you might be able to get at him. That is, if you can still do it. Yazoo filled me in quite a bit on the level of yours and his powers within this place.”

Lifting his glass of water to his lips, Rufus watched Kadaj over the edge of it, setting it back beside his plate.

“In fact, I see a way you could turn everyone in this place on the Head Doctor in a way. Or perhaps get to the Head Doctor himself.”

So the President was back. Reno wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. Still, he only did avoidance for so long, and with Elena there as well, it was his chance to take care of two topics he didn’t quite want to go towards.

Kadaj would just be a bonus.

Dumping his tray on the table, Reno sat down without so much as a warning. He opted to sit beside Elena, situating himself between her and Kadaj. He could tell she was far from comfortable with the Sephiroth-look-alike’s presence, and for the first time, he realized just how much the bastard had scared her.

“Making friends?” he asked, keeping his tone casual. The question was addressed to Kadaj, but his eyes were fixed on the President, waiting to see just exactly how Rufus would react before doing anything further.

Damn. This would be awkward.

Elena didn't answer any of Kadaj's taunts. Nothing clever came to mind--none of the sarcastic little quips that tended to dominate her speech when she was annoyed...not even a basic "fuck you." She just sat there, rigid and pale and shaking.

Reno's arrival went almost unnoticed, although she did scoot closer to him when he sat down, so close that their elbows would touch if either moved theirs. Physical contact was comforting.

Rufus just had to bring that up, didn't he? His victory. Kadaj curled his hand into a fist around his fork and glared silently down at his plate, fighting back the urge to attack the president. It was all his fault! If he hadn't hidden Mother from them and lied to Kadaj all those times, they wouldn't be in this place now! It was all his doing! And now he just had to go and mention it casually, chat like they were old friends, and act completely calm and unruffled as if he was completely unaware that the remnant was seriously considering driving his fork into Rufus's skull.

But no. Not during the day. He had waited before, hadn't he? this was no different than when he had held himself back before attacking Elena. He could control himself... somehow.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he attacked his food-- not actually eating it, but mashing it up and stabbing it repeatedly until it resembled nothing more than a kind of paste. Whatever worked, right? He made an effort to keep himself from frowning or glaring, though, determined not to look like he was in any way affected by the president's words.

Looking at Elena helped. The girl was just so pathetic that it had to bring a smile to his lips.

When he finally spoke again, he was much calmer than he had been just a few moments previously, but there was still a certain unstable element to his voice that hadn't been there before. "A way to get to the Head Doctor? And what might that be? You'll have to forgive me for sounding skeptical, Mister President, but if this plan of yours is so ingenious, why haven't I thought of it yet?"

This (probably poorly phrased) question heralded the arrival of Reno, the actually competent Turk. Joy of joys. Reno hadn't actually threatened bodily harm if he bothered Elena like some other people had, though, so Kadaj saw no reason to continue. Smirking over at the redhead, he replied, "Oh, of course. We're one big happy family, aren't we?" Yeah, right.

Rufus’ gaze didn’t rise to Reno, not acknowledging the Turk for a few seconds. It was due to purpose versus embarrassment, wanting Kadaj to take in that pause and hope that the remnant’s ego would let him think he had Rufus’ complete and undivided attention. It served the dual purpose of giving him time to rearrange his thoughts and words to fit Reno being there. Things he would have said in front of the teenaged Elena were not ones he could in front of her. Reno’s sense of danger was much sharper and while Rufus doubted that Reno would step in given what he had said yesterday in the sunroom, he had no desire to test that theory until necessary.

Rufus’ gaze finally did move to Reno, noting where he was at versus where Rufus believed he should have been. Inwardly, he cursed the situation. What he didn’t need right now was Kadaj realizing that Rufus was basically out there on his own, Reno’s decision to sit between Elena and danger instead of between Rufus and danger showing in it’s own right. That fracture of the Turks wasn’t what he needed or wanted Kadaj to see right now.

Damn it

His hand slid around his glass of water, pushing it towards Kadaj.

“I can give you an army if you can do what you did to the children of Edge, Kadaj. The question is can you? Yazoo told me quite a bit, including that you two are weakened. Can you still do it? How long does it last? How much needs to be consumed? I told Yazoo about it, mentioning getting you into the kitchen during the Nightshift to spread… whatever it is you do to the water and drink supply. These patients outnumber the nurses and doctors. What I need to know is how long does it last? How much control do you have? Does it need to be tested or have you tried it since coming here?”

What Rufus wasn’t saying in front of Reno was if Kadaj didn’t know that a test might be in order and who was testing. Rufus was trusting in Kadaj to guess that.

Noting Elena’s movement, Reno shifted his leg far enough under the table to brush her knee. He discreetly moved his arm away from hers by picking up his fork, trying to keep any obvious physical contact away from Kadaj’s eyes. He would’ve liked to just grab her and go, and he would’ve had he been alone with her. Rufus was there, however. He didn’t want to leave the President alone with Kadaj and he didn’t think Rufus was willing to be the one to walk away.

Plus, there was the little fact that Rufus clearly had something in mind.

Damn. What the hell was the man planning? Having not yet lived through it, Reno had no idea what happened to the kids in Edge...but Rufus had mentioned an army and he'd mentioned patients. He had also mentioned the water supply. It was a general rule of thumb that when the phrase water supply cropped up, mass contamination of some sort was about to happen.

Using Kadaj to contaminate the water then. To turn the patients into an army?

Reno wasn't sure if he was right, but if he were...

Not wanting to seem distracted, Reno gave Kadaj a cold smirk back as his mind was flipping through his thoughts. "I damn well hope so. Family should always be together and happy. Be a real shame otherwise...I’m sure you feel the same, yeah?”

He lifted his glass of water (which hopefully lacked any of Momma Boy’s mojo) to his lips, trusting Kadaj would get the message. Touch my family and I go for yours.

There was a definite upside to the fact that Kadaj was not without one of his brothers here.

Water supply.

Elena seemed to shake some of her terror-induced stupor at the mention of water, eyes going a little wider as her sluggish brain kicked back into gear and processed what President Shin-Ra had just said. She had no idea what Kadaj had done to the children of Edge (in fact, she didn't quite know where Edge was), but words like "army" and "patients" did not go without her notice. What was he suggesting Kadaj do? Put something in the water that would turn everyone into mindless zombies?

Reno seemed to know much more than she did...how else would he be so calm when the man who basically owned the world was talking to a known psychopath about turning the patients into an army via water contamination?! The girl caught his eye without really looking at him, trying to convey all of her questions into a single glance. What was going on here?

Kadaj stared at the glass between them for a moment, a slightly bemused smile playing about his lips. Of course by now he was sure he'd have to talk to Yazoo about the little conversation he had with the president, but that could wait until later.

Right now, he was much more concerned with the fact that he didn't know if he could duplicate the black water here at Landel's. The president didn't know it, but Kadaj was almost completely shut off from his abilities here. He had gotten lucky with the materia he had liberated from Elena that night, but other than that...

Abandoning his fork, he reached out to pull the glass even closer to himself, beginning to trace his finger around the brim once he deemed it close enough. "Only a few sips are needed for it to work. That might have changed here, but that's how it worked on Gaia. As for how long it lasts...." He laughed softly. "I gave it to the children the night before we returned to Edge for the last time. The explosion of the monument seemed to snap them out of it, but you saw that, right Mister President?"

Smiling much more confidently now, he let one finger dip into the water, swirling it around for a moment. Any moment now, the water would start to turn pitch black...

... but no. Nothing happened. Frowning, Kadaj withdrew his finger from the water and pushed the glass back across the table with enough force that it was almost knocked over. "I'm afraid your plan isn't going to work, Mister President. So sorry, but I'm sure you'll come up with something else soon." He plucked his fork back up from the table, making no secret of his agitation now as he resumed stabbing at his food. "Wouldn't have worked anyway," he muttered, half to himself. "No one here has Geostigma anyway."

No longer in the mood to play along with Reno, he just gave the redhead a look, then let his eyes slide over to Elena. "You're awfully quiet," he said to her, starting to smile again. "Don't you have anything to contribute? I love your new haircut, by the way."

Damn.

Rufus reached out with his bad hand to steady the glass, lips compressing tightly at the pain that clawed its way up his arm at the simple motion. He’d have to be more careful tonight. At the time, he hadn’t been thinking. His only concern had been Reno. That was unacceptable, something he reprimanded himself harshly for. His concern should have been himself, not his Turk. The other half of him sent up a low grumble that Reno was his Turk and thus his. The memory of Reno’s words from last night silenced that quickly.

Drawing his glass back to himself, Rufus stared at the liquid within thoughtfully. What Kadaj had said before that made it sound like a good plan. It would group together all these people and send them out to attack a common enemy. It would figure that Kadaj was cut off from that ability. For a painful moment, Rufus wanted to toss the glass away from him. Making his hands stay loosely on either side of it, he forced what approached calm for him to override that anger. A temper tantrum wouldn’t do anyone good, least of all him, and it certainly wouldn’t make the water suddenly be what he wanted it to be. His lips twisted down at the mention of Geostigma.

“Behave, Kadaj,” Rufus said absentmindedly, sounding more like a parent to tell quibbling children to stop than anything. “I can look at your plate and know you’re upset, but save that for the Head Doctor. I hadn’t been aware that one needed to have G-... that disease for it to work.”

Appetite gone, Rufus didn’t bother to even toy with his food, studying the water as if he too expected it to suddenly turn black. With Elena’s position to him, he didn’t see her look of inquiry to Reno or the redhead’s reaction. He was well aware that Kadaj’s rage tended to turn on the first target and that he might end up with a fork in his throat at this rate, but showing fear wasn’t something he would ever do. Other thoughts flicked through his mind as well and none of them would benefit from him backing down.

“Regardless, be careful, Kadaj. I told Yazoo the same, and suggested he stay with you during the night, but I doubted he listened. I don’t need Valentine or your other enemies ripping your head off or attempting the same. Or you doing it to my people. I’m sure the Head Doctor would love that if you kill us off or they do you.”

The look Elena gave him was noted, but Reno had no answer for her. He was as out of the loop as she was. Not that he could’ve really explained at the moment, anyway. He gave a slight wave of his finger, indicating for her to leave the subject for now.

He watched as Kadaj stuck his finger in the water, trying to figure out what the hell the guy was doing without appearing as though he were in any way fascinated.

Which he actually was, although not as interested as to what Rufus was scheming about. Using Kadaj to control a goddamned patient army? Something said that whatever Rufus was planning ran a lot deeper than just that—hell, maybe the President was just playing Kadaj—but Reno wasn’t completely sure. He’d never been able to fully figure out Rufus—part of the reason why he actually liked the man, certainly far more than the former President Shin-Ra—and it wasn’t something that normally concerned him...until stuff like this cropped up.

Although it didn’t technically matter, as it seemed whatever was supposed to have happened didn’t. Which apparently pissed Kadaj off, given the way he attacked his lunch in so violent a manner, it was almost comical. The flash of pain from Rufus, though, quickly erased any amusement that might’ve occurred.

The mention of Geostigma didn’t escape his attention, either. So it only worked on those with the disease. And Rufus hadn’t known, from what he said. Which meant he’d been under the impression that it would affect everyone. Had he even planned on informing Reno of this? It was true that there was little chance for them to talk much, but Reno couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too possible for Rufus to have decided to risk lumping him in with the masses to get zombified. It wasn’t as though the President lacked the ruthlessness required. Rufus had defended him last night, yeah, but no doubt because it wouldn't have suited his purposes otherwise. And Reno was aware that he was disposable should the President require it, something that didn't bother him, exactly—under the right circumstances. Being put under Kadaj’s control did not fall under that category.

Dammit. What the hell’s going on?

Still distracted, he hardly paid attention to the look Kadaj gave him, but the words he did hear. Already not the most cool headed person in the world, with both the Special Counseling and the fact that he had absolutely no idea what the fuck Rufus was playing at right now combining with Kadaj’s taunts and Elena’s evident distress, he snapped a little earlier than he normally would’ve.

The fork slammed against the edge of his plate with a sharp clatter. He did manage to not drive it through Kadaj’s eye. “Is there a reason why you’re still here, or do you just like hanging around even when you’ve proven yourself useless in doing whatever it was you were going to?”

Elena stared intently at the water glass, not really knowing what was supposed to happen, but certainly expecting something.

Nothing happened.

She would have giggled if they had been in any other circumstances. It was just so...ridiculous. Kadaj had just swirled his finger around like a child playing in the mud, but whatever magical change that was supposed to take place was decidedly absent, leaving the water as clear as it had been before...though she didn't think anyone ought to be drinking it. Not after the little silver-haired bastard had gotten his fingers into it. That was just unsanitary.

It was good, though, that whatever Kadaj had tried to do hadn't happened, and that it would only have worked on those with Geostigma (whatever that was), because that raised all sorts of questions. Was the President actually in league with Kadaj? Did the Turks (well, the Turk and not-quite-Turk) fall into the list of "those to be controlled"? It was a scary prospect. Elena knew that Shin-Ra wasn't exactly...ethical in many (most) of its dealings, but she didn't know if its president would trade his most loyal underlings in favor of a slightly increased chance of escape. From the way Reno had snarled at the silver-haired boy, he was thinking the same things she was.

When Kadaj turned to her, Elena snapped. "Just shut the fuck up and leave, okay?" Her voice was about an octave higher than normal.

The pointless food abuse stopped, only to start up again in the form of Kadaj actually bothering to eat the mess now on his plate. Chewing it was just the same as mashing with his fork when you got right down to it, wasn't it? A split second later, he was glancing away and pretending this change had been entirely his idea and not prompted by the president's words at all. Couldn't let him know that, now could we?

"The Head Doctor won't get the satisfaction of either," he said eventually, looking thoughtfully down at his food. It wasn't that bad, even in this form. "I admit I might kill some of you if the mood strikes me, but for now I think you're safe."

That declaration immediately preceded the outbursts from Reno and Elena, though, and there was a rather tense pause while Kadaj considered the two of them from underneath his silver hair. Reno naturally proved to be the more annoying of the two, voicing the exact same idea that had been plaguing Kadaj since he had discovered his impotence in regards to the black water. What right did he have anyway, saying something like that thing to him? Hadn't Kadaj already put him in his place when he went to see the president in Healin Lodge? No matter. Reno had never struck him as a fast learner anyway.

Smiling grimly, he spoke to the Turk rather than his young companion, hoping to aggravate her even further by refusing to address her directly. "I'm definitely more useful than your blond friend over here at least-- all she's managed to do so far is get herself brainwashed by the staff, attacked by one of the most dangerous people in this insane asylum, and kissed by the biggest idiot. And what do those accomplish? Nothing." He stared down the girl in question, looking more and more malignant by the second. "You'd be so much better off without her."

“Elena, control your language, especially in my presence.”

The clatter of Reno’s silverware off the plate brought his attention up from the glass of water to fix on Reno. With no idea of the thoughts going through the heads of either of them, he was left mildly surprised at the outburst. Rufus was aware that it had been Kadaj that attacked Elena, but he took that as par for the course of this place and Kadaj’s way. What he was trying to do would ensure that such never happened again.

“Reno, control yourself as well. I’ve seen some of the sedated patients who cause problems, and I have no desire to get into another fight to keep you safe. In that case, I don’t think I’d be able to hold off however many staff they have here.”

Scarily enough, he briefly had the same mental image that Kadaj did, that of Reno and Rude sprawled out across the floor his room at Healin’ Lodge in pain. That wasn’t something he wanted to come to pass a second time when it could possibly be avoided. The question in Rufus’ mind was just how much lying space did he have when it came to Kadaj and Yazoo. More than a few could probably confirm that Rufus and Yazoo had indeed spoken, even Yazoo himself. The problem lay in if he could play the two remnants off against each other.

We’re only remnants.
“I’ve always thought you were the mind behind you and your brothers.
You see, I don't know Sephiroth. But, you know, I can sense him. It really irritates me. Is it Me or Sephiroth? which one will Mother decide...

Leaning back in his chair, Rufus settled his right arm across his lap. As much as he detested having to ask the staff of this place for anything, he would have to get something for pain most likely. Showing off to Kadaj had left him hurting. He did arch a brow at the list of what Elena had been doing since here. Once again, he had that difficulty meshing this girl with the woman he knew. That had to wait though. Kadaj was the biggest threat to himself and the safety of his people.

“Kadaj, do calm down. I am sure that Yazoo would have told you all we discussed since he realiz…”

Rufus purposely trailed off there, looking confused and then nodding to himself as if he finally understood something.

“No, he probably wouldn’t have. He always was Sephiroth’s mind. That’s not important now. I’ll think of something else soon enough or you will. Stop bickering like children over who I need or want the most. It’s useless and wastes time and energy better directed towards the Head Doctor.”

The reprimand irritated him, even more so than Kadaj's presence. Rufus could've told him to shut up or given him a look and Reno would've heeded without much complaint, but being scolded like a child—by someone who was actually younger than him, no less—was the one thing that just pissed him off. It was only due to Rufus being the President and Kadaj being there that he didn't snarl something back.

That, and he couldn't deny that Rufus was right. There was no winning in getting the nurses to pull out their pointy weapons on him. Though if he could rip out Kadaj’s throat, it'd be worth it, but given that he probably couldn’t, it would be stupid to lose control in front of the little bastard for nothing.

Biting back his ready retort to Kadaj, Reno shifted narrowed eyes away towards a neutral spot ahead of him. He closed them for a second, trying to keep his cool and clear out his clutter of thoughts. He managed the former. Not so much the latter.

As Rufus continued to speak, Reno glanced back at him, chin resting on top of his hand. He kept his gaze casual as he made an attempt at reading the President. It wasn’t until Rufus hinted at Yazoo’s possible deception at the end, with a carefully placed pause, that something finally clicked.

Reno’s initial suspicion had been right. Rufus was playing Kadaj. Or was he? But then why bother with the deal about the damned water in the first place? Had he known Kadaj would be cut off from his powers or had he just been betting on it? Or was it something he’d actually been considering on doing?

There was no asking anything, though. Not with Kadaj here.

Fuck. Fine. He’d see how things played out, and save his questions for later.

"Sorry, sir," Elena muttered at the President's rebuke, sounding like a petulant child. She lowered her eyes, refusing to meet Kadaj's smug little face or Rufus' admonishing look. She wanted to stab the eyes out of the former, and well...she was too embarrassed to face the latter.

She was, however, extremely hard-pressed not to just snap and go for Kadaj's scrawny little throat as he detailed her exploits of the past several days. He saw. He saw the kiss and now she was terrified that he'd go after Tamaki, just to get at her. The poor boy was making himself too much a target, anyway, proclaiming himself her knight and champion and God knew what else on the message board (Elena still needed to have a little chat with him about that). As it was, she just glared daggers at him and prayed for the best.

The girl tore her mind away from her murderous thoughts towards Kadaj long enough to listen to what the President was saying. Was he...was he stringing Kadaj along? It seemed that way, but if she could notice, wouldn't he?

Elena was actually a lot more perceptive than she gave herself credit for.

Whatever pleasure Kadaj felt at getting to Elena as well as the fact that the president had told them to control themselves first was quickly lost under another flood of anger. Yazoo always was Sephiroth's mind? What the hell was that supposed to mean? He had been the one to come up with all of their plans, not Yazoo! The president had an even worse understanding of the way they operated than he had originally thought. This along with the fact that he hadn't even known that the black water only worked on people with Geostigma was rapidly lowering Kadaj's opinion of the man, even as he tried to recover from yet another blow to his pride. Yazoo always was... hah.

He snorted, poking at his food again with a decidedly sour expression on his face. "Why don't you go and talk to Yazoo then, since you have such a high opinion of him? Must be exactly like talking to Sephiroth. I wouldn't know, of course, but maybe our big brother can tell you about it. If not, Zack's been around too, and he knew Sephiroth. Ask him."

He fell silent, not particularly in the mood to discuss this topic any further but finding himself unable to stop thinking about it. Hadn't Zack said he didn't act like Sephiroth just that morning? Of course he didn't say that Yazoo did, but still... no, it couldn't be true. He had been the one to find Mother and have the Reunion. It was all him. The president just didn't know what he was talking about. He wouldn't accept any other explanation than that.

When Kadaj went back to stabbing at his food Rufus dared to meet Reno’s gaze, feeling the weight of it on him. His face was its usual impassive mask that he wore when it came to dealing with Kadaj. What he couldn’t do at this point was let Kadaj see or get the feeling that anything was off, to find the niche to start hammering away at that could form a break. What he did let Reno see in that few seconds glance was the Rufus himself was worried but it was mixed with a weird elation, more like a man that was running to his own suicide.

How far are you willing to trust me, Reno? How far are you willing to go with me? Is your loyalty even with me still?

He didn’t spare any words for Elena, restraining his urge to lean across the table and make her behave. If she set Kadaj off again by glaring at him, Rufus saw an ugly fight ahead of them. While he had little doubt the three of them could take Kadaj down, he had no desire to spend the rest of the afternoon drugged up or the like.

Holding Reno’s gaze a moment longer than he dared, Rufus was surprised to find himself missing his Reno. At least once a day he had cursed the Turk’s antics and quick mouth, but when bad things happened, he always had him by his side. When he’d dove/fallen off that building after tossing Jenova over, the redhead had been the first to reach him. There was no time for that now. Kadaj had to be dealt with.

Instead, Rufus laughed quietly. It was a sound he rarely made. Instead of his usual razored mocking, there was a kind amusement to it. A smile came and went quickly as he watched Kadaj.

“I think Yazoo is the strategist or perhaps Sephiroth’s cool head, but you… you’re his heart and soul. In the end, that’s worth more and probably why you always were my favourite. You’re more like talking to Sephiroth once I get past the prickly part. You’ve got a quick mind like he does, but unrestrained in a way he wasn’t.”

Rufus’ expression was introspective for a moment.

“You take the slightest criticism too harshly, Kadaj. Yazoo figured out something before you. I wouldn’t blow it up into something horrible or a failing in you.”

Rufus returning his look was expected. What was not expected was the glimpse of worry he conveyed. It was damned rare for the President to allow something like that to shine through.

Reno gave an imperceptible nod before looking away. Yeah, he’d go along with whatever Rufus was planning. He’d just have to keep his eyes open a hell of a lot wider while he did. Because full loyalty did lie with the President, always would, but his complete trust...that remained with the Turks alone. Not that Rufus had done anything to lose it—it had just never fully been there in the first place. Working side by side with Tseng, Elena, and most notably Rude, meant Reno had established something with the three that simply wasn’t there with Rufus.

There wasn’t much time to do more than that, though, as the intercom gave another annoying ding.

Dammit. And he still hadn’t had a chance to speak with either Rufus or Elena alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 21: Lunch

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