Kyla Lutz

3/17/06

Latiolais-3rd

Cherry Blossoms

"That's quite an asservation, Reno."

The redhead looked at his partner curiously. "Asser-what?"

"Asservation. Serious statement? I told you that last week."

Reno shook his head, his green eyes vehement and his visage furious. "Are you insinuating I'm stupid , Rude?"

His partner, a bald man with a deep voice and dark sunglasses, shook his head right back. "No, I'm not. I'm insinuating that you may be in a Bacchanalian state."

"What? I don't know what you're saying."

"You're drunk, Reno. Drunk"

Reno sighed. "I haven't had a drink in three weeks."

"Then why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"I dunno... I miss Kadaj, Rude..."

Rude looked at him, his mouth open in shock. "That's impossible! He's the enemy!"

"Don't malign him! I don't know why I miss him..."

"That's totally disreputable! You can't go chasing after men! Rufus"- Rude was speaking of the president of their organization- "must've debauched you in some way."

"No. It's still the same old incorrigible me, though I'm slightly more despondent."

Rude looked horrified. "We need repose. This could turn out to be pernicious."

Reno left the car they were sitting in and began walking away. Rude followed him hastily. "Where are you going?"

"To find him. I have to see him again."

Rude clapped a hand to his forehead. "You are so obstinate, Reno."

"And you, my friend, are politic."

"That's unimpeachable."

"Well, bye."

"You must be under the influence of laudanum."

"Hey! How dare you indict me so?"

"I feel commiseration for you, my friend, but I won't try to stop you if you feel you must go."

Reno nodded, smiled, and began walking away. He entered Midgar, a large city, and was soon lost to Rude's sight.

Reno found the silver-haired Kadaj in a bar just inside the city's main entrance. He was with his two brothers, Loz and Yazoo. When he saw Reno, he looked away, his shoulder length hair glistening palely in the bars meager light.

Reno came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kadaj..."

The silver haired man was incredibly handsome, with one green eye and one blue eye. He didn't look at Reno, but merely muttered angrily, "What do you want, Turk?"

Reno, slightly stunned by the derogatory use of his organizations name, said, "What's wrong?"

"Go away, traitor."

"Traitor?"

"You destroyed Kaasan!"

"I didn't touch your mother!"

"Your precious president did, though."

"Well..."

Kadaj shook his head. "Go away, Reno..."

"What don't you like about me?"

"Your whole demeanor sickens me. You're a cowed, timorous shell of a man, and that whole wanna-be attitude you have makes me angry!"

"Why do you impute me so?"

Yazoo piped up. "Niisan, I think you should acquit this man. He'll just end up stabbing you in the back."

Loz spoke next, his deep voice grating slightly. "And the propensity of that is sure, Niisan."

Kadaj stood up quickly and angrily, the rage in his voice thick and noticeable. "You're right." He turned on Reno and suddenly, his countenance softened. "Hey... I'm sorry... We just can't deal with another loss... First Sephiroth, now Kaasan? I'm sorry, Reno, but you're too likely to betray us." He turned back to his brothers, nodded towards the bar door, and muttered, "Let's go, guys."

They strode off, Kadaj with a hand on the hilt of his sword, and exited the bar. Reno stared after them despondently and collapsed on a bar stool, leaning his head on the counter and staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, a pretty black-haired woman with jet black eyes was leaning over her, a surprised look on her face. "Reno? What're you doing here?"

Reno smiled at her sorrowfully. "Hey, Tifa."

Tifa continued cleaning a glass with a rag while she watched Reno sit up and face the bar, his head hanging. "What's wrong?"

"Kadaj just flat out rejected me."

"Weren't you supposed to be on a mission with Rude? At least, that's what I heard from Cid."

"I was... But I couldn't stop thinking about Kadaj..."

"Hmm... Neither can Cloud..."

"Can I talk to him?"

Tifa shrugged. "Sure." She went into a back room and emerged a few seconds later, followed by a man with blonde, spiky hair that seemed to defy gravity. Dressed in a plain black outfit with a metal wolf over the left breast, Cloud Strife was certainly a fine piece of real estate.

He glanced at Reno, sighed, and came around the counter, sitting next to the fiery redhead. "So, you've been having issues, too?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's his eyes?"

"What? Why?"

"They're tainted with Mako. That's why they're mismatched."

"Oh... Maybe..."

Cloud grinned at Reno out of the corner of his eye and was struck by a certain kinship with the man next to him. He realized that maybe this could fix everything that was wrong with his life, and that thought was comforting.

Reno spoke softly. "You want to go for a walk? I think we have a lot to talk about."

Um... This was a project for English. That explains the big words... It was a vocab. thing for Tale of Two Cities.