εγλ 0010 March 18. 11:00. Upper Junon.

Reno had spent the morning strolling along the boardwalk, taking in the sight of the ocean. The weather was beautiful with clear skies for the sun's rays to warm him from the frigid air of winter's last hold of this land. The sun reflected so brightly on the water Reno kept his sunglasses on—he didn't wear his signature goggles when out of uniform. The water was so much cleaner than the last time he came here, no doubt thanks to the WRO's projects to clean up Mako pollution. In the distance, he could see a pack of dolphins jumping through the waves. The other pedestrians along the boardwalk-some elderly power walkers, a young couple locked hand-in-hand, a family with small children-also stopped to gaze upon the majestic creatures. Their smiles and delighted voices at the sight of the healthy dolphins jumping merrily filled the atmosphere with a sweet happiness that affected even Reno's mood. It was times like these, seeing the clear payoff of the WRO's efforts to clean up the world and the relief it brought to the planet's creatures and humans, that Reno felt confident that he was on the right path. While nothing would ever completely absolve him of his crimes, he still had a role to play in rebuilding the ruins he helped create.

After his walk, Reno headed over to the shopping district. He browsed through a quaint little used bookstore and ended up buying two trashy romance novels (a genre he was secretly a huge sucker for, a fact that greatly amused Rude when he found out). Something easy to read to distract him while he waited for Rude and for the bus ride back to Edge later. He found a cozy little cafe situated nearby called The Laughing Dolphin which seemed like a nice place to kill time-a short walk way from the pier with a beautiful view of the bay from its third story dining area.

"Just a plain, medium hot coffee, please."

The barista was a young man in a slightly spiked hairstyle that was trendy with the youth these days. He gave Reno a sweet, but polite and professional smile. "Okay, we can do that!" he said cheerfully. "Will that be for here or to go?"

"For here. I've actually got some time to kill until my appointment, so I'll be here for awhile if that's alright."

"It's definitely no problem at all. So a medium size coffee will be 15 gil please."

Reno handed the barista his debit card, specially issued by the WRO's finance division. The young man paused to examine it before swiping. "WRO, huh? You with them?"

Reno quickly averted his eyes away. "Yeah, that's right," he mumbled. His new job wasn't something he wanted to discuss with a complete stranger.

"Well then, thanks for your service. Junon has been a much nicer city ever since the WRO came and cleaned everything up." The barista's appreciation seemed sincere, and his brief comment and lack of questions gave Reno some relief. "Can I get a name for your order?"

"It's Reno."

A pause. The young man's smile faded as he looked up from the register and stared into Reno's eyes. But just as quickly as it disappeared, the smile soon splashed across his face. "Reno, huh? Never heard that one before. It's nice." He quickly re-focused his attention to the register to print out the receipt. "So have a seat wherever you want. We'll bring it over to you."

Reno chose a comfy-looking armchair at the large window that had the view above the streets and the bay out into the distance. He took a minute to watch the people down below and out in the distance where there were some fishing boats out as well as another pack of dolphins. He relaxed into this chair and broke open into his book and mindlessly absorbed the first chapter. He had already finished the first chapter when he realized he hadn't gotten his coffee yet. Oh well, maybe they were busy. There were some other people here who looked like they might be in a hurry. Besides, he had nothing to do but wait anyway. Almost as soon as he realized how long he had waited, a waitress with purple hair and a nose piercing brought him his coffee in a large, dark blue mug.

"Coffee for Reno?" She said in a cheerful sing-song tone as she leaned over and placed the mug onto the table beside him.

"Yeah, that's me. That's a medium size? Wasn't expecting it to be that big."

"Oh we actually upgraded it to a large size. Don't worry, it's on us. It's a thank you present for a helpful WRO agent."

Reno's face warmed with embarrassment, but he graciously took the coffee from the smiling woman. He relaxed back into his chair and sipped his coffee, which tasted delicious. It was just the right temperature, hot enough to warm his body but not so hot to burn his mouth. He continued on with his reading while sipping on his drink.

He had only read a few pages when he was interrupted.

"Excuse me," said a young woman with blonde hair wearing a pale pink coat stood by the armchair directly next to him. "May I sit here?" Reno nodded and she sat herself comfortably beside him. The chairs were too close to each other, he could almost feel the fabric of her coat brushing against the arm of his sweater. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," he mumbled. He wasn't really in the mood for small talk, but somehow he had the feeling this girl would insist.

She continued. "The air is so clear we can actually see the dolphins out today. Have you seen them?"

"Yeah, this morning actually." Reno closed his book and took another gulp of his coffee. He should at least try to be polite. No need for trouble before seeing Rude. "I got here early and took a walk along the boardwalk and they were out in full force."

"Are you from around here?"

"No. Just here for a visit."

"Where are you from?" she smiled as she asked with a slight tilt of her head. An innocent question, but one Reno had to answer carefully. He was out of his Turks uniform, so he could at least pretend to be a normal citizen today.

"I grew up in Midgar." Just like a few million other people did.

"Oh, me too! What sector?"

"Three." That's where he was born and raised until Veld took him in and brought him topside. "In the Undercity."

"I see…" The girl sipped her own latte while continuing to look towards Reno as he poured another gulp down his throat. "I'm Trisha by the way." Reno simply nodded and looked back to the horizon. Trisha sighed after a brief awkward pause. "You ever miss home? It's a shame Midgar is mostly ruins now. I heard it's mostly just old soldiers and vagrants still there."

"A little bit." Reno felt his eyelids droop and a wave of exhaustion pass through him. It's been a long day. Good thing I got extra caffeine, he thought as he drank his coffee again.

"So what did you do before you joined WRO?" Trisha asked.

"I worked for Shinraaaa" A deep yawn escaped his mouth. "Sorry about that. I've been up since five this morning, then I had a three-hour bus ride here from Edge."

"It's alright. Have some coffee, Reno. That should wake you up."

"Ha! You're right about that." Reno took another swig, nearing the end of his mug.

Trisha gave a soft giggle. "So what department did you work for?"

"Administrative research." Technically the truth.

"I see. Very interesting work. My dad was actually a Shinra employee too. He was an engineer. Maybe you ran into him at some point. Gods, he would have loved to see the dolphins out there today."

Reno felt a chill aching through his body, a cold sweat forming at his brow. His muscles relaxed and melted into his chair.

Trisha continued. "I miss him so much. The last time I saw him, I was such a brat. I ran away from home over something so stupid. And just like that he was gone. I regret it every single day and probably will for the rest of my life. Do you have regrets, Reno?"

His breathing was erratic as a painful cramp erupted through his stomach. I never told you my name. Panic seized him at the realization that Trisha was more than she seemed, and that he was powerless to defend himself now. He looked down into his mug to see specks of white powder clouding the bottom. The cafe staff were probably in on this too. I really shoulda saw this comin'.

Trisha's smile was long gone, a quiet rage in her eyes replaced any sense of cheerfulness that she conveyed earlier. "Do you regret what you did to our home, Reno? Do you regret what happened at Sector Seven?"

"Shit." Reno muttered as everything faded to darkness.