When Reno finally came out of the den he looked as though he had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?"
The Turk shifted slightly and suddenly the paleness was gone.
"My stomach is a bit off. Musta been the eggs." He laughed.
Cid highly doubted the eggs were to blame, but could he really argue?
"Sorry about the breakfast interruption."
"Do me one favor Cid? Next time, let's not have breakfast with our ex's. I won't make you have breakfast with Tseng."
"You could'a opted out."
"No, because then I woulda looked like a pussy."
"Ya know to be fair, I'll have breakfast with yer Turk. You had breakfast with mine, it's only fair that I have breakfast with yours."
Reno smiled at Cid and walked to him, "He's truly still a Turk. He still has the intimidation factor down to an art."
Cid gave a sad smile and stepped towards Reno. He held his arms out and wrapped them around the Turk in a loose and fairly awkward hug.
Reno looked up at Cid and carefully pulled away, "Cid what're you doing?"
"Ya looked like ya needed a hug."
"A hug?"
"Yeah," cid replied with an overly sheepish grin.
Reno gave laugh and shook his head, "Would Vincent have liked a hug?"
"I don't really think so. He wasn't really a cuddly type."
"I think it might be a Turk thing. Although I might like a good cuddle every once in a while, I'm a Turk. I got a pat on a head and tossed a pack of cigarettes when I was feeling down. I'm not really all that used to the whole hugging thing."
Cid let out a sigh of relief, "Ta be honest, I don't much care for hugging either. Shera tried to get me to understand about the whole hugging thing, but I never really got it."
Reno nodded, "We are hardened men. Hugs are unnecessary."
Cid gave a grin and slapped Reno on the back, "Sounds good to me."
"Wanna go take a look a the chopper? See if there is anything we can do today?"
Cid and Reno walked into the garage and didn't think twice about the ex-Turk's departure.
~ Vincent landed on the shores of Wutai on Chaos' wings. He allowed the cape to take true form as his feet touched ground. Yuffie may be the princess here, but she would never catch a demon possessed ex-Turk. Rain poured down from the sky, drenching the already soaked cape and armor Vincent wore. He would need to find a warm cave or rely on Yuffie's family's hospitality if her really wanted to get dry. It wasn't that Vincent wouldn't stay at an Inn, it was simply the fact that the young woman would insist and wouldn't give him a moments peace if he was anywhere else. At least at her home Godo might shoo her away to give Vincent a bit of privacy. There was no time however to think of where he would be staying. He had urgent business to attend to and if Yuffie found him he wouldn't get the chance. The cloaked gunman ran for tree cover, careful to keep watch for any would be nuisances. He kept Chaos' demon sense out and searched for the Princess of Wutai.
She was seemingly on the cliffs of Da-chao, which gave him some leeway around the village as long as she didn't shift from her training in the caves too much. Swiftly and silently Vincent tore through the trees towards the outskirts of town where the Tajiri family pagoda sat. It was one of the few honorable family pagodas that was outside the main town and Vincent was very thankful of that.
He made his way to the pagoda and used all of the stealth abilities he could to get to the front door.
Tseng sat by the hearth of a warm fire his grandmother had insisted on making. It was pouring out, so he was taking the time to appreciate the pitter-patter of rain on the tile roof top. Bundled in a set of traditional robes, he rested at ease by the small table he had found in severe misuse. He had a cup of famous Wutain Chai and was about to tuck into a small dish of leftover Ramen when he heard a knock in the door. Tseng tried to ignore it and hoped that Mira, the household maid, would have heard the knock.
It had taken Tseng a while to get used to not needing to be high strung and worried about his Turks. Rude was with his doting mother in Northern continent, Elena was in Costa del Sol with her father and siblings, and Reno was in Rocket town. Tseng cursed at himself and looked away from the inviting glow of the fire. Reno was in the clutches of what used to be the enemy. His Reno was staying in Rocket town with a man that had stabbed him in the stomach. It had taken him a great deal to ignore the fact that Reno was not with him.
Tseng slid a hand into his robe and felt the scar over his chest. Masamune had taken more from him than a month of recovery time. Tseng truly believed the legends about the sword. It may not take your soul, but it certainly took something with it when it left you. It had made him realize, that he could honestly die at any time. He knew that the only thing that saved him was his own sheer will to live. He would be damned if he would let simple lust for another blind him from his God's path. He knew it hurt Reno when he awoke and told him that they couldn't be together anymore. The words had hurt Tseng and he was the one saying it, he could only imagine the pain his friend felt.
Tseng reached for his cup of Chai, trying to ignore the pain he had rekindled when he heard the knock again. He looked at the direction of the door and wondered who could possibly be coming to call in this weather. He stood and made his way through the pagoda to the insistent person at the door. Before he reached the door, he reached into his robe and grabbed hold of his custom pistol, a habit he could not seem to let go of.
He opened the door and was surprised to see a dripping wet princess of Wutai.
"Princess Kisaragi, to what do I owe this great honor?" Tesng said with a deep bow.
"Yeah, yeah honor and all that- is Vincent here?" She said as she attempted to peer around Tseng and into the pagoda.
"No, Prin-"
"Come on, Tseng, I have told you this already, it's plain ol' Yuffie. Now I sensed him around here. I know his materia's smell from miles away."
"I can assure you Pr- Yuffie. I have not seen Vincent since we battled you last."
Yuffie gave him a weird look, "On your honor? You haven't seen him since we last battled."
"On my honor, I have not seen Vincent since we last saw each other as Turks and Avalanche."
Yuffie shifted from one foot to the other then pouted slightly, "That sucks. I could've sworn I sensed his materia."
The young woman turned and seemingly danced down the steps of the pagoda towards the village, "Thanks Turkie!"
Tseng sighed and watched her waltz off towards the village with a bit of a spring in her step. The Turk shook his head and shut the door.
Tseng turned and came face to face with a set of glowing red eyes. The Turk, jumped back, his hand drawing his hand gun faster than he had ever thought he could.
"At ease, Tseng. I came here to speak to you." Vincent said, holding up his hands to show he held no weapons.
"Dear Leviathan Vincent. You almost gave me a heart attack. You knew-"
"That Yuffie sensed I was here, yes that is why I felt the need to "break an entry". I need to talk to you and she would have hindered that process."
Tseng nodded, "Please let us take a seat in the drawing room. I have a fire going and I can pour you some chai." The Turk looked at the sopping wet gunman and winced, "Maybe a towel or something to dry off on? I think we may have some guest robes if you want your clothes to dry."
Vincent gave a "warm smile" and nodded, "Thank you for the hospitality. Your culture has always been kind to those weary from travel."
Tseng led Vincent to the drawing room and offered him a seat while he ran to fetch a towel and another cup for tea. After the Turk got he ex-Turk comfortable, they sat across from the little table Tseng had set up.
"You said you had something you needed to talk to me about?" Tseng asked.
"Yes. It's concerning your second in command."
Tseng stood and shut the door, there were certain things that he didn't want echoing throughout the house. Generally speaking, anything that involved Reno was something that he didn't want to travel any farther than the room he was in.
~CHAPTER 21! Happy Thanksgiving and all that! After an extended break I finally have Chappies to put up! Sorry it took so long! I would like you thank everyone for their patience and especially fetherd, Black-Rogue-Fairy, Namantos, ABNORMAL2110, VioletIsInPain, and Morgan Pen for the amazing reviews! With all luck I won't slack like a beast any more. If you ever wanna yell at me and tell me to keep writing I am on Twitter under Cryingravens. I may also be willing to do RP's as whatever character if you contact me there! Thank you and hope you like it! ~CR