(AN)-- Some people have kept their reviews consistent. Wonderful news! At any rate, some of you have been getting antsy for the other characters to appear. They will. Pretty soon, in fact. And Reno, the darling little bastard…I'm going to toy with his character a bit before he gets all refined with Yuffie. To hell with secrecy, you guys knew he was going to end up with her anyway. This chapter is a bit dramatic. I know, it's a little early for dramatic sequences, but it's only one out of many, and I have many up my sleeve.

`p a n d o r a

s c h o o l b l u e s

vi. enigma

"Nanaki…"

Nanaki stepped back with every advance Yuffie took on the poor fellow. She was seething, ears burning and cheeks flared. He suspected that if they were some kind of animated characters, her appearance at the moment would be considered highly comical. Nevertheless, Yuffie was like a broody dragon waiting to strike if you got on her bad side, which he had just done by forgetting to pick her up after her first class. It was lunchtime now and she had found him speaking to some friends. Yuffie was never one to delay so she had grabbed him, pulled him aside, and blew his ears off.

"You left me!" She screeched. "You left me!"

He sighed and restrained a chuckle threatening to explode inside of him. "Didn't I say you'd be fine? You made it to class, didn't you? Which reminds me, who took you?"

"Some seniors." She answered flatly. "But it doesn't really concern you. It was you who was supposed to take me."

He smiled gently. "You're mad at me then?"

"Of course I'm mad at you, you big jerk!" She jabbed his left arm, smugly grinning when she saw his left eye twitch for a second. "But I'll forgive you. Just don't forget to pick me up after school, okay?"

"I'll think about it," he teased.

"Hey! You promised!"

"You really expect me to drive you home when you nearly destroyed my sense of hearing?"

"Aki!"

*

The Turks were almost finished paying for their lunch when an ear-shattering cry reverberated around the cafeteria. Heads turning, they amused themselves by gazing at a fuming Yuffie with a jovial young man – Nanaki.

Reno snorted. "So what's that girl yapping about now? A good man would leash her to keep her under control. Doesn't she know it's disrespectful to treat elders that way?"

Elena gave him a good bop on the head.

"That's exactly the reason why women divorce men. Men are pig-headed bastards that need to learn much more about a female's mind and body."

"I've already learned their body structure. What's to know about the mind? They're very complex; I wouldn't waste my time on it, knowing that I won't figure them out until I'm ninety-something and old and wrinkly. They're just waste."

Elena's eyes glowed red before she dropped her tray and lunged at the poor, unsuspecting redhead. Fortunately, Tseng managed to hold her back from slitting his throat.

"It's no good to besmirch women like that, Reno." He grunted while still attempting to hold the blonde back. She was quite strong. "You should know better."

Then, Tseng blinked and loosened his grip on Elena somewhat. He hadn't realized what he had just said until it came out.

Tifa remained quiet through the whole setting. She knew exactly why Reno degraded women, and it was by no fault of his own. Elena, who had broken up with him because of that (and the fact he never responded to her three-worded confession) only fueled his hatred for the opposite sex. True, men would probably never understand their counterpart and vice versa.

At Tseng's unwanted statement, Reno shot him an icy glare before leaving the mess hall, Tifa right at his trail.

"Reno!"

He didn't answer. Tifa ran to catch up to him and once they were walking in sync, she touched his arm in a compassionate manner.

"Reno, what was that all about? That was childish, don't you think? Tseng was only stating the obvious. I don't see why you would get so worked up over it."

He shrugged her hand off his arm and walked faster.

"Reno, will you just talk to me? Stop acting like a damn kid and face me!" She ordered.

He spun around, only to meet her eyes, which she shrunk back in wavering fear. He was furious. She could understand why, but it was simply a juvenile, out-of-fun conversation. At first, they were all joking with one another and the next…well, maybe if Tseng hadn't said anything then this wouldn't have happened.

"It's only been a day," she started again, "and you're already heated up about Tseng's comment. I say just let it go."

The flare in his eyes subsided. Maybe he should let it go. The fact was, none of them really understood anything so why should he bother. Perhaps he should just never say anything and let them stay in the dark for a while. After all, he was the life of the party, the comedian, and the one in high spirits. Anything less than that was considered out of character.

"You're right. Sorry."

"You don't mean that." Tifa noted carefully.

Reno shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Come on, let's go. I have to go and apologize." He went back to the cafeteria without her; she just stared after him.

"You're an enigma, Reno. A sheer enigma."

Whatever happened to family trust? Stop hiding and come out with it already. We're here for you. I know you made me promise not to tell, but I did anyway. Tseng should be regretful now; his words just slipped out. Understand this, Reno. We're behind you.

She shook her head. She wished she could say the words forming in her head to him. He didn't need her to go and lecture him but she did anyway. He just got carried away sometimes. But the look in his eyes proved he needed more comfort than what he received.