"Just where the hell are you taking me?" I demanded, issuing one of my pattented death glares.

"Relax, buddy. I'm doing you a favour," the red-haired Turk insisted. I think I saw him stagger a little to the left. "All work and no play makes a guy really, really lame."

"I don't think that's how it goes."

"Maybe not, but it applies. You need female accompaniment."

I very nearly growled at him. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Come on, my man Sephy, it'll be a breeze. As soon as you walk in there, you're going to have a half dozen women pounce on you."

"I'm not interested," I insisted. "Actually, I'm still nineteen, so I don't think I'm even legal for this place yet."

Reno nodded to the bouncers. "Eh, I don't see anybody checking. Let's go get you a girlfriend!" The bouncers noticed him and nodded back. Great. He's a regular.

Despite my many attempts to weasel away, struggle free, attempt to maim and/or decapitate Reno in the process of trying to flee, I was still dragged into the filthiest, smokiest, most unwelcoming pub that Midgar had to offer.

Reno, upon entering the establishment, swiftly scooped up his 'usual' from the counter, where it was waiting for him, and proceeded to abandon me in the masses as he went to harass a table of young girls. A regular indeed.

I ducked my head and made for the bar as swiftly as I could. The bartender turned to me instantly, a most hostile expression on his face. My guess was that he'd already seen a couple fights tonight already, and regarded new customers as intruders. His hands were busy cleaning a glass that... Did not look sanitary by any stretch of the imagination. Like some brown mud had been permanently etched into the sides within the glass.

Trying not to think about it, I ordered just water. If he was giving me an odd look before, he gave me a stranger one now, and slowly went to fetch a glass of the stuff, as if waiting for me to change my mind. I just have to survive the evening, carry Reno home, and get on with my life. I need to figure out what this 'Jenova' thing is-

A familiar blonde woman in a scarlet red dress took the seat beside me at the bar. Of all the places... Best to not make eye contact. I chose to pass the time staring at my interlaced fingers on the counter infront of me.

Without even acknowledging who I was or what I had ordered, Scarlet jerked a thumb in my general direction and barked "I'll have what he's having" in her usual, passive-aggresive manner.

A few insignificant minutes passed before we were each served a clouded, aged glass full of a clear liquid. I decided to listen for Scarlet's reaction before I tested it. Not a full second later she was spluttering and complaining loudly.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" she groaned. She grabbed my shoulder rather forcefully and turned me to face her. "What the hell did... you... order?"

I batted her hand away. "Water." I hope.

She blinked a couple times as it sunk in who I was, like she was trying to see through a fog. I turned away as if to ignore her, taking my own glass and forcing myself to take a large gulp of 'it'. It tasted faintly of sand. Scarlet, a tad embarassed, turned away and demanded something strong. Tequila, I think she said. After downing a couple shots of that, she apparently decided she was drunk enough to attempt to engage me in a conversation.

"Sephiroth," she began. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Reno decided for some reason that I'm romanticly frustrated in a way I'm unaware, and dragged me here," I responded scornfully.

She downed another shot right before talking, cutting herself off. "-thought you 'ad a girlfriend," she pressed.

"Not really."

"Who was the brunette at the dance then?"

"An enigma."

"A what?"

"Nevermind. Just a friend."

She then looked at me suddenly with a fierce scowl, as if something I'd just said upset her enough to want to kill me. "You know, if you don't like it here, jus' leave," she barked with a dismissive wave of her hand.

I decided to tempt the fates. And I was absently curious. "I think I'll stay," I answered defiantly. "What's your problem, anyway?"

Scarlet served me another vicious scowl, though I doubt she realized that unlike most men I wasn't about to run away screaming whenever she decided to act on a mood swing. Her look not having any effect on me after even a prolonged exposure by her standards, she downed yet another couple shots and answered bitterly.

"... Damn President naming his own shon the Vice..." she mumbled. "Now I've got to show him the ropes, tell him what Weapons Dev is all about, I feel like shomeone's goddamn secretary..."

"'You know, if you don't like it here, just leave,'" I quoted.

She growled at me. I've never seen anyone brave enough to do that before. I stifled a laugh as well as I could manage.

"Jackass," she responded sourly. "Where's Reno? I'm gunna kill him..." she trailed off as she got up and left.

I peered into the crowd after her and managed to spot Reno. He seemed to be enthralled with the group of young women he found, and now shared their table. Deciding he wouldn't see me go, I got up to leave to find a hand on my shoulder for the second time that night.

"Hey, buddy," the scruffy bouncer demanded. "Who's going to pay for the lady's drinks?" He was just short enough that he had to look up at me, playing down the fact that he was trying to intimidate me.

"You see that red-haired guy in the suit over there?" I pointed at Reno. "He'll cover it."

"Nice try. He's a valued customer, you're just dumping your tab on him, aren't you?" The bouncer glowered at me in a way I didn't appreciate.

"Listen," I began, working in a threatening vibe. "Tell him if he doesn't pay for the lady's drinks, aswell as the drinks of everyone he's sitting with right now, then Sephiroth is going to have a stern talk with his boss and he'll be out of work faster than you can say 'go.'"

The bouncer backed off slightly, and I did him the favour of brushing his hand off my shoulder, maintaining my glare. "Sephiroth, right?"

"That's right."

"I'll tell him."

"Thank you."

"Well... I hope you enjoyed your evening, sir."

"Absolutely not," I said scornfully. "Even the water tastes terrible, and I can't see a square inch of this place that's not covered in either smoke, grease, or bile. We have sanitation laws for a reason."

He looked as if he was about to apoligize, but I didn't permit him the pleasure of finishing. Instead I marched out of that place into the fresh(er) air that surely awaited outside.