. . . Chorophobia . . .

Sixth Stanza: Rudra Kumar

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

- Rumi Spring Giddiness

Rude saw two benefits to following Reno with this crazy idea for once. And only two. One: he would be there when he friend surely made an ass of himself, and make sure to get him out of whatever sticky mess that state of being would cause.

And two...

He got to watch Tifa again. Not that he was obsessed with her; a notion he had entertained once. But she was still quite beautful. A man couldn't help but notice that.

But right now he was almost nervous, because Reno hadn't made an ass of himself. And he'd even talked with that Kisaragi girl, hell, danced with her, and still managed to come back with all parts in tact. And he'd watched through his binoculars the look that Cloud had given him. Sometimes that man was just so... intense. Not that he was ever truly frightened of him, but somehow he wished that he would at least scare Reno. It would simplify things.

He shook his head. He'd been analyzing things far too much again. It was the true curse of the less than loquacious.

Yet, he felt he had reason to worry. Especially now that Reno was planning on going back to the party.

"Smug bastard!" Reno snorted, pacing back and forth, "I oughta show him what a Turk is really made of!" Rude tried to suppress the image of Reno being sliced in half by Cloud's overly large sword. But he'd never been good at keeping such things at bay.

"Reno," he replied, a statement that could mean several things. And luckily, his partner didn't really have to ask anymore.

"Whatever. I'm not being stupid," Reno answered, alternatively thinking and brushing him off, "It's not like I started anything in there." Rude stared at him through the sunglasses, a look that would bore a hole through someone's head if he were to have lasers for eyes. Now that was a thought...

"Then why do you need to go back?" Rude said, catching Reno off guard. Sometimes Rude felt the need to be direct, and with he'd learned that with Reno, he needed to be direct. The man's red hair dye probably produced near ultraviolet waves; which in turn made him a complete idiot at times. Idiotic enough to dye naturally red hair, redder.

Not that he'd ever tell Reno that.

But for now, it seemed like he was really thinking, maybe even weighing the consequences for once. Either that or the alcohol he'd frantically chugged from his flask was making him sick. He really hoped that latter wasn't true; he'd just gotten new shoes.

"...'Cause she didn't tell 'Laney goodbye," Reno whispered finally, giving Rude a glance that affirmed the seriousness of his tone.

Well, that made sense. His little brother had done some growing up.

He'd almost forgotten that Elena wasn't with them. Yes, the chatter was down, but her presence was still keenly felt. She'd settled down in Wutai, of all places, married a local fisherman and had a kid on the way. That was nearly a year ago when she'd told them she was tired of wandering. Best thing for her, really, she needed a chance to get living.

Which brought him back to the issue at hand: Miss Yuffie Kisaragi. The very reason Elena had been in Wutai and met her husband. Their old wandering partner; the ninja without a purpose. Ran into her somewhere in the Mideel area, as she tried to rob them blind of any Materia-like substance they had. Nearly three years ago, in fact.

She had fit in just fine. For what were the Turks without a Shinra?

But she had disappeared, just after they'd been frequenting Wutai. Gods know why. Kinda shook Elena up a bit, for certain. He only guessed that keeping company with two men wasn't the most pleasant of times for her. Women always seemed to latch onto each other though, something he'd never really understood.

"Maybe we should just get her away from the others," Rude suggested, clearing his mind of past events for the moment, "No use causing any more problems." Reno smirked at his statement, and somehow Rude didn't really want to know what he was going to say.

"What, you don't want to have a word with Strife, yourself?" he said slyly, grinning at the involuntary twitch in Rude's mouth.

Asshole. You know very well how I feel about that.

He didn't want to worry about AVALANCHE. He had enough problems with his own friends, his own kind, to worry about. But no matter how hard he'd tried not to, he'd seen the way Tifa's face dimmed a little when Strife came by. Something had happened, and it didn't seem like Tifa was happy about it. And he couldn't help but be a little worried about her.

He glanced up at the cloudless sky for a moment. For some reason, he half expected there to be something else approaching. A storm, perhaps.

"After this is over," Rude finally answered, resting his sunglasses atop his head and bringing the binoculars to his eyes, "I don't like crashing parties."

Unlike you.

They hadn't even come here for Yuffie. They didn't even know that there was some event that would have the majority of their previous antagonists in this particular part of the world. They were just passing by really, when Reno heard the music. And did he ever have a nose for free booze...

He finally had her in the sights of the binoculars, was relieved to see that Tifa didn't have that uneasy expression on her face anymore. From his voyeuristic standpoint, she looked like she was having some fun; dancing actually. And the guy wasn't Strife. Somehow he was relieved. They changed positions and he saw that she was dancing with...

Reeve?

He didn't see that coming. Then again, he didn't see any of this coming. He didn't think that Reno would crash a party, and unwittingly fall into the middle of an AVALANCHE reunion of some kind. He didn't expect that Elena would fall for some random Wutain guy and settle down. He never predicted that he would spend most of his afternoon looking through binoculars, watching a woman who'd always be on the wrong side.

Hell, he didn't expect to still be wandering around, wondering if freedom was worth it in the end.

Then again, what sides were there anymore? What really was the problem... were they all really so different? Weren't they all just people?

And when would he learn to teach his mind to shut up?

"Reno," he said abruptly, interrupting the other man's attempt to find a cigarette, "Do you think she's worth it?" Reno looked at him like he had just told him that his mother was Jenova and he wanted to go find the Promised Land. Had Rude been any other sort of person, he might have laughed at him.

"The hell...?" he replied, unlit cigarette bobbing in his mouth, "...Which one of us are ya talkin about?" He had to hand it to him... Reno had good instincts.

"Both," he replied, lowering the binoculars and putting his sunglasses in their usual position. Reno smirked.

"I dunno yet," he said, his voice oddly quiet, "That's what I'm here ta find out." Now it was Rude's turn to smirk.

I thought you were holding something back, you rat. I guess we've both been fooling ourselves.

He probably wouldn't have that "chat" with Strife. He knew that. He may not even speak to Tifa, but then again, he had few words for those who didn't already know him. She probably still held that grudge against Reno, at the very least, and him by extension. He didn't know why he was flying head first into this storm...

...But something told him that for whatever reason, it was worth it.

"Let's just wait a little longer," Rude said quietly, still looking for clouds, "Not like we should rush into this." Reno leaned back, his cigarette finally lit, and stretched out his lanky legs.

"Not like we've got anywhere else ta be..."

"..."

I always thought Rude looked a bit Indian, so I gave him an Indian name. Look up Rudra, I dare ya. And yes, I'm going off of the game, so he's attracted to Tifa. Don't worry, she's doesn't have every guy after her. Just a select few. See if you can guess already. And Yuffie's got some too. But Tifa's my muse, so... ya. >.