The file you are reading is not meant for your eyes; put it down and walk away or I Tseng Director of the Turks, or my successor, will find you and silently and effectively remove you from society, to then slowly starve and torture you to your breaking point. It is as this point that we will bring you do the absolute middle of nowhere where you will be given your freedom of choosing how you would like to die. Should you ever make it back to society the Turks will take this is as you rejecting our kindness of letting you choose your own death, and will be subject to a death at either my, or my successor's, discretion. This is the record of six of my most extraordinary Turks. They came from another world, a world where Final Fantasy 7 is owned by Square Enix but this is their story and theirs alone. For the sake of the future I left a record of their adventures locked deep in the Turk Archives but only if the fate of the world is threatened should this file be opened. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.
-Tseng Akira, Director of the General Affairs Department, Shinra Electric Power Company
Chapter 16: Training the Cadets
Alanna cast a glance at Gen who was lying on the ground, Rapier having slid a few inches past his fingertips, bullet holes in his back letting blood seep into the snow.
Ryu climbed into the pilot's seat and started the lift off process as Alanna climbed into the co-pilot's seat.
"How did you activate the chopper's gun?" She asked as the room faded back to a regular room. Ryu stood and grinned as Reno came in. Gen was climbing to his feet, dusting himself off after his embarrassing defeat.
"Well played sis." Reno exclaimed as he ruffled her hair. Ryu grinned and pushed his hand away.
"Just doing what you taught me bro." She replied. Genesis cleared his throat to get their attention. Ryu and Reno turned to look at him. He had his hands propped on his hips.
"Ryu…" He began. Reno laughed.
"Lighten up Genesis, you should have expected neesan would have technological advantages. And that she would treat it as a stealth mission."
"Let's go over the exercise in the lounge." Genesis said after glaring at Reno. He motioned to the cadets to leave.
"Report to your squad leader and Angeal, he'll go over your performances with you." He told them. They all filed out.
Ryu and Alanna followed Genesis and Reno to the lounge near the VR rooms. Reno flopped into a chair after he retrieved a drink from the fridge and some snack food. Ryu sat cross legged on the floor sorting through her bag. Alanna tossed the gloves and scarf at her.
"How the two of you handled the mission... was interesting." Genesis began. Alanna looked at him curiously.
"How so?" She asked.
"I thought it was a good melding of Turk and SOLDIER abilities." Reno said. Ryu nodded her head.
"Ryu hardly fought." Genesis pointed out. Reno laughed.
"There's more to being a team than fighting," he said, "I should know." Ryu grinned at Genesis.
"I am not much of a fighter," She frowned as Reno snorted derisively, "I have the skills but..." She trailed off. Reno sighed.
"She's not cold hearted like most Turks. You have to give her a reason for to go for the kill."
"She's already killed." Genesis argued.
"What?! Ryu why didn't you tell me?" Alanna exclaimed looking at her friend shocked. Ryu had her head ducked as she rubbed the white scar across her left palm.
"It was to protect another girl, that's the only reason I killed him." She said softly. She looked up at Alanna.
"It was Christmas. It sucked. I don't think I'll ever feel the same about Christmas again, but that doesn't matter. I've toughened up." She clenched her hands, "I had to." Reno sighed.
"Neesan we talked about that." he protested.
"Not now, Reno. Can we just go over the mission?" Ryu asked softly. Reno sighed. Alanna watched as Ryu calmly pulled her knife from its sheath and checked it before putting it away. She drew both her guns and checked them as well.
"Fighting wise, Alanna did most of the work." Gen started. Alanna smiled.
"Cuz I am good at it, and no offense Ryu, but you have less Mako and a shorter blade. Unless you were intending to shoot the cadets." She said. Ryu shrugged.
"That's okay. I am good at the sneaking around part. I got us through the sewers didn't I? And in that kind of mission avoiding the fights is better." Ryu pointed out.
"I still want to know how you activated the chopper." Alanna said, after controlling her immediate gag remembering that horrid sewer. Why did they have to replicate the sewers so accurately? Genesis nodded his head.
"And I would like to know as well."
"Turk secret, yo." Reno said, laughing. Ryu grinned. She was cleaning the lens of her goggles.
"I'd say overall they do make a good team." Genesis admitted. Reno nodded his head.
"We'll be seeing how you all pair up so we know who best to pair together for missions." He frowned at Ryu.
"For you this includes the other Turks." She nodded her head.
"I'll have to get some more training before that happens I suppose." She muttered. Reno laughed.
"Not after they hear you "killed" Genesis, yo. They'll be fawning at your feet for bringing down one of the damn SOLDIERs." He told her. Ryu blushed slightly.
"I doubt it." She said even as Genesis scowled at Reno, who was in the process of throwing his trash away.
"Nothing but net." Ryu muttered under her breath. Reno grinned at her none the less.
"I'll need that ear piece back Alanna." Reno said suddenly, he grinned at her.
"Don't worry, yo. We're working on getting you all custom fitted pieces." He told her, when she looked reluctant to hand it over. Sighing Alanna handed over the ear piece.
"You can go Alanna, take the rest of the day off." Genesis said absentmindedly. Alanna grinned and nodded her head. She stood to leave. She glanced at Ryu hoping she'd be able to get off too.
Reno stood and yawned. He beckoned Ryu to follow him as he wandered out the door. Ryu threw Alanna an apologetic glance over her shoulder. Sighing Alanna left the lounge and headed back up to the apartment.
Ryu trailed behind Reno as he headed back to his office. He waved to Rude and Morgan as he passed their office, and Ryu gave Morgan a small smile. Morgan rolled his eyes.
Reno flopped into his chair as Ryu perched on the edge of the desk, choosing not to sit in her own chair. He sighed and tipped his head back and closed his eyes.
"Don't we have paper work to do?" Ryu asked. Reno grumbled. Ryu laughed softly and pulled out a file to work on.
"Ryu?" He said suddenly.
"Yo" She responded absentmindedly. He grinned at her response, but grew somber again.
"Do you remember anything about why you came here?" He asked. Ryu looked up at him as she closed the file setting it aside. She faced him and chewed on her lip. Reno could tell she was nervous. She sighed.
"We don't know for sure. But things don't add up for us." She began. She rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease the tight muscles.
"Like what, yo?" He asked her. Ryu shrugged.
"If this was an accident why are we so good at our new roles? We're not soldiers or fighters or assassins or spies but yet suddenly we're really good at it. Not only that, we're learning so quickly, too quickly." She admitted.
"Do you have any ideas?" He asked. Ryu shook her head miserable.
"None." She whispered, lying to him. Reno sensed she was lying but didn't push her. He figured she'd tell him when she could. If Genesis was right about a higher power being involved, there was no reason that same being wouldn't have insisted on silence, or not even told them anything useful. He just hoped she and the others kept their mouths shut around Tseng, it wouldn't do to let him know they were keeping secrets. He already suspected they were.
Sephiroth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was dead tired and the day was far from over. He reached for another energy drink only to find he'd already drunk them all. He groaned; this was going to be a long day he realized, well technically evening. The day had already passed he'd had to review all the troops here at Shinra and now he had a mound of paperwork to do before he could sleep only to wake up to do it again. A knock sounded on his door.
"Come in" he growled. The door opened revealing Ryu and Alanna and a tray.
"We brought you dinner. Angeal hinted you wouldn't be back in time." Ryu said as she set the tray on his desk, right on his paper work. He eyed them with his green eyes. Alanna grinned and produced two cans of his favorite energy drink and set them beside the tray.
"We also figured you'd be out of these." She said.
"You only brought two?" He asked plaintively reaching for one. They both smacked his hand.
"Eat first." They chorused. He realized they were going to stand over him until he ate.
"You don't have to stay." He said hoping they'd get the hint. Ryu just grinned.
"I have a lot of practice forcing people to eat Sephy, you won't win. You need to eat, so eat; then you can drink them and if you need more just page one of us." She told him. Seph sighed and lifted his fork to dig into meal Angeal had cooked. And true to their threat they both stood over him until he finished it. It wasn't until he'd devoured it all that he realized that he was starving.
"Any chance of seconds?" He asked giving them a hopeful look. Ryu whipped out her PHS and quickly typed a message.
"I'll run up and get it." She said. Seph frowned.
"I don't mean to make you guys run around looking after me, you were both at the review as well. You two must be tired." He protested as Ryu headed for the door with his dishes. She threw a smile over her shoulder at him.
"We don't mind. If you haven't noticed Sephy, Alanna and I like taking care of people. We can't help it." She told him before she disappeared into the hall. Alanna sat in a chair opposite his desk as he reluctantly opened a file. With a small sigh, Alanna tipped her head over the back of the chair and for all appearances fell asleep. Seph smiled as when he looked up and saw her before he turned back to his paperwork.
Ryu suddenly reappeared, tray in hand. She smiled when she saw Alanna and snickered softly as she handed Seph the tray.
"Gen had her up before the crack of dawn to get training in before the review." She said before she leaned over to gently ruffle Alanna's hair to wake her. Muttering Alanna sat up and stretched.
"Did I fall asleep?" She asked fuzzily. Ryu smiled.
"Yes Sleeping Beauty, you did, and there was no prince charming around to wake you." Ryu told her. Alanna scowled at her friend. Ryu grinned and tipped her head to the side.
"Although I suppose I could have shanghaied Sephy into doing it, but I don't think either of you would appreciate that." She added. Alanna fought a slight blush and made a face at Ryu before noticing Seph frowning at a report as he shoveled food into his mouth.
"Something wrong?" She asked. Seph looked up at them startled, he frowned.
"Yes" He sighed.
"Anything we can help with?" Ryu asked as she took the seat next to Alanna propping her feet up on the corner of his desk.
"The new cadets… They didn't do as well as they should have." Seph said frowning.
"I'd noticed they seemed scatter brained." Ryu said.
"Well it's not surprising, there were five women in the room, and they are teenagers." Seph said frowning. Ryu and Alanna stared at him shocked.
"They were distracted by us?" Ryu asked surprised. Seph nodded his head.
"It seems females are distracting to them." He explained. Ryu frowned.
"We were dressed as Turks. We should have been genderless to them." She said. Seph sighed again and popped the top of one of his drinks and took a long swallow.
"Hormones" He said. Alanna and Ryu rolled their eyes.
"If they're too busy ogling girls they'll get hurt out in the field." Alanna said, "Any distraction is still a distraction."
"I know. Gen, 'Geal, and myself have tried to drill this into them. They just don't get it."
"Maybe they need an object lesson." Ryu said slowly, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought.
"What are you thinking, Ryu?" Alanna asked grinning. Seph raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on in Ryu's head to cause the slow slightly evil smile to appear.
"If we distracted them, you, me, Piper, Mary and Cissinei, dressed as Turks, what do you think would have happen if they saw us dressed as girls? Like girly girls, dresses, heels, make-up, the whole shebang?" Ryu asked Alanna. A matching evil grin appeared on Alanna's face.
"They'd never be able to focus, and if then a humiliating defeat at the hands of say, Kunsel" she turned to look at Seph, "He's a second right?" Seph nodded his head, "They'd never forget to never get distracted in battle." Alanna said gleefully.
"But why would Kunsel be there to beat the tar out of them?" Ryu asked. The two schemers were turned in their chairs facing each other, ignoring Sephiroth completely. Alanna frowned in thought.
"What if he was put in charge of them, for a concentration drill? You know don't lose focus or I hit you, kind of drill? And it happens to be out on the green or somewhere where we can wander by all giggly and girly and distract them?" Alanna offered. Ryu shook her head.
"Not embarrassing enough." She said.
"What if it was in the VR room?" She offered. Alanna shook her head.
"They'd know we were part of the training."
"Fair. Could we have a tournament type thing? No that's a stupid idea…"
"What if Seph gave them a lesson in familiarizing themselves with Midgar? We could pretend to be just some girls shopping and ogling the cadets like silly little girls, and Kunsel could pop out and attack them randomly when they are distracted." Alanna said. Ryu snapped her fingers.
"Brilliant," She grinned, "And we can get some shopping in, but it's gonna need a lot of girls to help," She grinned, "like all the female Turk's in Shinra right now." They both grinned and turned to look at Seph.
"It'd take more than Kunsel to attack them, perhaps Rude, Reno and Morgan might be inclined to help?" He suggested.
"Probably be wise." Ryu agreed. Alanna turned to face him.
"So do we have permission?" She asked. Seph sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, something he'd picked up from his childhood body guard, Tseng. He felt as if he was unleashing something truly nasty on the poor cadets.
"Yes" he said.
"Awesome"
"OH HELL YEAH!" Ryu said pumping her fist. They both grinned at each other.
Alanna cast a look over her shoulder as a group of cadets wandered towards them.
"Show time" She whispered to Ryu who was walking next to her. Ryu grinned and laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. They were dressed to kill, metaphorically speaking.
Ryu was wearing a black tank, a pleated red skirt that ended mid thigh, ripped black tights and black ankle boots with four inch heels. She'd left her hair down, and made sure it was newly dyed so the brilliant red was its brightest. She was wearing large hoop earrings and sparkly crystal studs, a key necklace and several bangles. A pair of black sunglasses, currently perched on her head, and a black purse finished her outfit.
Alanna was wearing a heather gray, lacy, fitted, low cut tank; a layered, ruffled skirt in a soft purple that ended mid thigh, and a pair of knee high, high heeled, soft, gray, suede boots. She had worked on her hair to make take on a popular cut's look. She had on a pair of chandelier earrings with sparkly amethyst crystals, with matching crystal studs. She had several bracelets with "fake" materia charms hanging from them. A large green "fake" materia hung from a chain that ended just before her top began. She was swinging a gray suede purse casually in one hand. She glanced at Ryu's feet.
"How can you walk in those? Heels used to kill you." Alanna muttered even as she grinned. Ryu shrugged.
"Reno's been having me run the tightrope recently. If I think of it like that, I won't break my ankles." Ryu said, grinning, "besides I've wanted to wear shoes like this for ages. Are they looking at us?" Alanna risked another look over her shoulder.
"Not really." She muttered, sounding slightly offended. A few were looking over, but not many. While they were flashy and eye catching, the cadets weren't standing still bored, so they weren't so easily distracted.
"Well here goes." Ryu muttered and launched into a high strung, loud explanation of the awesome party she'd just been too and the one coming up. Alanna chimed in both of them chattering like magpies.
"My God, I am so glad you don't actually talk like that." Morgan muttered after Ryu used "like" five times in one sentence. Both of them grinned.
"And you know my boyfriend, he's like so protective, he like really hates it when I like go out with my friends. I think he's like so jealous, and I mean like why should he be? It's not like I like like any of you." Ryu said without losing her beat. Morgan snorted in disgust as Reno laughed.
"How nice of you." He commented.
"He like just wants to, like, keep you to himself." Alanna chimed in.
"But I like can't live without like my bestest friend ever. I would like literally die." Ryu came back as they continued to mock the "popular" girls they'd gone to school with. Morgan gagged into his mic.
"Kill me now. I prefer the yo's." He muttered.
"And why is that, yo?" Reno asked.
"Oh shut up." Morgan hissed at him.
"You both should like shut up, yo." Ryu hissed into her mic while Alanna talked about how she was so upset about being single. Both of them groaned.
"Oh dear God, please put me out of my misery." Morgan whispered as Reno let off a few curses.
Ryu threw a glance over her shoulder, "Like don't look now, but there is like ten cadets behind us, and they are like pretty hot without like their helmets on." Ryu said loud enough for the cadets to hear her. That got their attention. Alanna pivoted on her heel and turned to blatantly stare at the cadets. They returned the favor.
"Ooh! They are really good looking, aren't they?" Alanna giggled, drawing more attention to them.
That is, until Kunsel came out of an alley and "cut down" three of them, as bean bags shot from a sniper rifle and hit two more of them. Alanna and Ryu looked theatrically startled, and scurried away as the cadets looked around stunned.
"And that is what happens when you are distracted." Seph lectured, the disheartened group of cadets standing before him. All of them had bruises from their encounters with mysterious assailants. They had met various distractions; girls, pets, an argument, a runaway vendor's cart and such things.
"This was an assignment to teach you the importance of vigilance, no matter how mundane the task appears to be." He paused looking at them, "Dismissed." He barked, as they filed out disheartened.
Ryu splashed water onto her face and wiped her make-up off.
"Ryu, can you come out here?" 'Geal said, as he banged on the door.
"Be right there." She called.
Ryu padded out into the living room looking for Angeal. Zack sitting on the couch pointed to Angeal's room.
"What did you and Alanna do to piss him off?" He asked, awed. Ryu shrugged.
"Beats me. I've been an angel for the most part, since getting here." She said, as she entered Angeal's room. Alanna was standing by the door as Angeal paced back and forth. Once she closed the door, he whirled to face them.
"What exactly were you and the others thinking?" He said softly, but it was clear in the way he held himself he was angry.
"You interfered with a mission, those cadets were on assignment. But more than that, what were you thinking flaunting yourselves like that? What of your honor? Your pride?" He snapped. Ryu straightened up, as if his words stung.
"First off, Commander Hewley, those cadets needed to learn about distractions; better they learn it from us then on the battlefield. Secondly, that isn't the worst that Turks have to do; if dressing a little slutty helps keep them alive then I am glad to do it. Turks will go to bed with vipers if that's what it takes to carry out the mission; nothing is too low to see the fulfillment of the objective. Turks have no honor; we gave it up to serve Shinra. As for pride we have no pride other than in a mission well done. We live only for Shinra; nothing more, nothing less." She said defiantly. Alanna gave her friend a small smile, knowing Ryu was hiding behind their duties as Turks to deflect and diffuse Angeal's anger, rather than face it head first. Angeal snorted in disbelief.
"If you were normal Turks, I might believe that. But you aren't, I know you both too well. You have both honor and pride in yourselves." He said.
"If you knew us well, then you'd know what she said was true, there isn't anything we wouldn't do to carry out the objective." Alanna said softly. Ryu nodded her head solemnly. Angeal stared at both of them.
"You still deliberately sabotaged an assignment." He snapped.
"They were part of the assignment." Seph said from the doorway. Zack, Cloud, and Genesis crowded behind him to see the fireworks. Angeal looked at him quizzically.
"Sorry Angeal, but I didn't have time to tell you about the nature of the assignment; it was duel natured, to teach them the city and pound it into their thick skulls to not let themselves be distracted. The review of the troops made it painfully clear it needed to be addressed immediately." Seph said. Angeal sighed and eyed both of them. Ryu and Alanna were still standing tall and straight.
"Are we excused?" Ryu asked softly. Seph nodded his head.
"Sorry, I should have told the others." He said, as they both brushed past them. Both of them shrugged.
"What's done is done." Alanna said. Genesis grabbed Alanna's arm as she walked by.
"He didn't upset you did he?" He asked softly. Alanna shook her head.
"No, Commander Rhapsodos, he didn't." She said coldly, before she loosened her arm and walked away. Gen stared after her shocked. Ryu had been right; there wasn't anything they wouldn't do to carry out their objective, to protect the SOLDIERs, even if it meant breaking their own hearts to do it. Ryu's words had reminded her of that. Ryu grabbed her arm and pulled her into Alanna's room. She softly closed the door behind them. Alanna sat on the bed.
"You know I only said that to make Angeal back off." She said. Alanna nodded.
"But it was still true." Ryu frowned and tapped her fingers against her leg.
"It doesn't mean you can't be with him. What if part of our objective is solved by you and Mary being with them? Think about it, maybe 'Geal won't choose what he does if he has Mary. Maybe Gen fights it longer for you. And then maybe Seph won't, well, you know." She said. Alanna frowned.
"Maybe you're right, Ryu, but maybe you're wrong. What if that makes it worse? What if Angeal can't accept that Mary could like him, and goes insane? What if Gen decides to self destruct so I won't have to deal with him? What if Seph goes really crazy from jealousy?" She pointed out. Ryu shrugged.
"We won't know unless you try. We don't know exactly what will happen, because our presence alone has changed the future. I don't think the parasitic bitch is going to take our appearance lying down. She's going to retaliate, and that won't be in the games. We're on our own. We have to pick what we think is the best course of action." She paused and sat next to Alanna on the bed. She reached out and hugged Alanna.
"I think we were all picked for a reason, more than just we knew the games, or were dressed as them. I think we each can connect to them and bring out something in them that was hidden." She smiled, "I mean, look at Reno; we both know he's a cold hearted, womanizing, alcoholic, sadistic bastard. Or at least he's supposed to be; but now he's gentler. That's because I filled the gap he needed; he needed family."
"Piper does get along with Zack as if they are siblings; she's calmed him down a bit." Alanna agreed. Ryu nodded.
"What if you and Mary are supposed to bring love into their lives? What if that's what they need? I mean look at them. Angeal is so honorable and noble; we both know he'll take himself out of the picture once he finds out the truth. What if Mary's acceptance of who he is saves him? Gen is so arrogant, vain and aloof, that he'd never admit he seeks love. That's why he's obsessed with LOVELESS. And we know he can't accept being imperfect. What if you can thaw his cold heart, and prove he doesn't have to be prefect or the best to have what he truly wants?" Ryu asked her. Alanna frowned in thought.
"Do you think so, or do you want it to be so?" She asked her. Ryu shrugged.
"Both. My logic is sound and you know it. But I also want what's best for both of you." She admitted. Alanna hugged her.
"For a Turk, you sure have such a good heart." She said. Ryu laughed and hugged her back.
"I am an unusual Turk. What I said to 'Geal was true, except my loyalty isn't to Shinra; it's to our team, the 1st's and the three Turks. Our little family." Ryu said, before she got up and left.
"Don't dwell on it 'Lanna, the future will be what it is, and squirming over it won't help." She paused in the doorway and turned to look at her.
"I want you to be happy, Phil broke your heart, and I think Gen might be able to put you back together." She said, before she disappeared down the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her, and went in search of Gen.
She found him arguing with Seph and Angeal. She widened her eyes, wondering what had happened. She saw Zack and Cloud pressed against the far wall trying to stay out of the way. She crooked a finger at them and beckoned them to her. Relieved, they made a bee line right for her.
Once in the hall, she asked softly, "What the hell happened after we left?" Zack frowned as Cloud shifted uneasily on his feet.
"They just started arguing. Gen is furious that 'Geal lectured Alanna; he says it's his job to scold her. 'Geal claims Gen would never have called her on it and we're supposed to be…" Cloud trailed off blushing.
"You're supposed to what?" Ryu asked sharply. Zack flushed.
"Be protecting your virtues." He muttered, both of them shifted their weight awkwardly from side to side. Ryu laughed, she laughed until she couldn't breathe.
"Oh my God, that's too…" She gasped wiping the tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. Zack and Cloud watched her, slightly worried. She took a deep breath and sobered herself.
"Sorry, that's just too funny." She said.
"So we aren't?" Cloud asked confused. Ryu grinned and ruffled his hair.
"Deary, we were defending our own virtues as soon as we learned that boys had one very big weakness." She told him. Cloud flushed.
"What's that?" Zack asked. Ryu grinned nastily.
"One kick to the balls, and you're down for the count." She told them. Both of them paled and looked uncomfortable. Zack went so far as whimper. She grinned.
"So what is Seph upset about?" She asked, drawing attention to the fight still going on.
"Um, Angeal said it wasn't his place to change the mission without telling them, and Seph disagrees." Cloud said.
"Oh my God." Ryu muttered. She sighed and squared her shoulders. "Into the lion's den." She muttered before she marched into the room and directly between the three of them.
"ENOUGH." she snapped. All three of them turned to stare at her. Ryu took a deep breath and locked her shaking hands behind her back, where they couldn't see.
"Fighting won't solve anything." She began. Gen opened his mouth.
"Please Gen, don't say anything, all three of you listen to me." She turned to face Angeal.
"It's sweet that you think we need protecting, but the truth is back home we were raised to believe that not only were we responsible for ourselves, but that there is no shame in fighting dirty if your attacked. We were raised to be independent, strong willed, and stubborn. You aren't going to change that about us." He frowned, wanting to argue. She shook her head.
"Hover from afar, if you must, but understand that we can make up our own minds. If we decide to do something, then we are willing to face the consequences." She made a face, "We aren't two year olds who need constant supervision." She pointed out. She pivoted to face Genesis.
"I suppose you have a right to be mad at 'Geal, Alanna is your student." He gave Angeal a smug look.
"However," she continued, "my comments to Angeal apply to you too, we don't need babysitters and we did nothing wrong." Gen scowled at her. She turned to look at Seph. He had his arms crossed, scowling at her.
"Sephy, you should have told them. It would have saved a lot of trouble. Your commanders need to know what you are planning if they are going to effectively do their jobs. A good leader communicates with their officers. No one person can do it all, you take on too much, and 'Geal and Gen are supposed to be your right and left hands. But if you don't tell them, they can't help you, nor can they even begin to guess where to start picking up some of the burden. You have to learn to lean a little on them." She flashed both of them grins.
"They're big, strapping boys; although I'll grant you 'Geal's bigger. Both of them have strong shoulders. They can take some of the burden of running this army. Learn to delegate, so you can concentrate on only what you can do." She told him. Seph looked at her, surprised that she knew he was wearing himself thin.
"She's right, Sephiroth." Angeal said softly. Genesis nodded his head. Ryu smiled.
"Even Cloud and Zack can help" She told him, she patted his arm.
"You have friends to help you." She told him. Seph nodded his head.
"I know." He said softly. Ryu grinned.
"Now boys, shake hands and let bygones be bygones." She said. They grinned and chuckled.
"Yes mom." Seph said. Ryu blew him a raspberry.
"Watch it Seph, I won't make you any more cookies if you keep that up." She threatened. She pointed at Gen.
"You kitchen, I need to talk to you alone." She ordered before she left. Gen shrugged and followed.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Genesis asked as he poured himself a glass of wine. He offered her some. Ryu shook her head.
"Wine's gross." She commented, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle. It was something she claimed tasted like hard cider on Earth. She popped the top and took a swallow.
"Alanna's birthday is coming up." She began. Gen nodded his head.
"Well I was wondering if you could get your hands on some Banora Whites?"
"Why?"
"I want to make her a pie, and she's obsessed with Banora Whites. But they are hard to get in the city." Ryu explained. She smiled to herself.
"And I owe her after the disaster of her chocolate pie last year." She sighed and pushed her bangs from her face.
"What happened?" Gen asked curious.
"It came out as chocolate soup, it never set right. Stupid filling; we ended up freezing the darn thing and having popsicles." Ryu told him. Gen nodded in sympathy.
"I'll see what I can do about getting some. How many do you think you'll need?" Ryu pursed her lips thinking.
"I'll probably have to make two so everyone can have a decent sized piece of pie. It'll depend on the size of the fruit, the bigger they are the less needed." She mused.
"They're generally fit in your hand comfortably, like a ball." Gen commented. Ryu nodded.
"Easily a dozen then, make it a dozen and a half to be safe." She decided. Gen nodded. He frowned.
"Did 'Geal upset her?" He asked. Ryu shook her head; she blew her unruly bangs out of her face.
"No, but things are hard for all of us. We all have our low points, some more than others." Ryu rubbed the tip of her nose.
"It's easy for me and Alanna to get down in the dumps. But I have Morgan to haul me out of it. Alanna doesn't have that kind of support." Ryu told him. Gen studied the floor tiles, realizing Ryu might be willing to tell him some of the things that lurked in Alanna's past.
"She must miss her boyfriend back in your world." he said. Ryu smiled sadly, but she realized he was playing her for information and she gave it to him willingly.
"She doesn't have a boyfriend. He broke up with her over a year ago this January, and she hasn't dated since. He hurt her pretty badly, broke her heart. He fell out of love with her, but she still loved him." Ryu told him. Gen clenched his fists tightly.
"How can someone not love her?" He hissed under his breath. He watched as Ryu grinned. She seemed inordinately pleased with his comment.
"I was hoping you'd say that Gen. If you want to make a move, the field is all yours. Just don't hurt her, don't toy with her heart. She's not ready for that kind of heart ache." She told him before she left the kitchen.
"Don't forget what I asked you." She threw over her shoulder at him.
A/N: Yay! That's two days in a row. Hope you guys liked it. Things are going to start picking up pace soon, so don't give up on the story. Believe it or not, this is still in the character introduction phase. Now that you should have a good idea of everyone's personalities, we can get into the action soon.
~No one will ever understand my personality. There are far too many layers.~
-Shut up, 'Lanna. Just because you can't understand yourself doesn't mean no one else can.-
~At least I have a role in the story, Miss Brute.~
Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Kindly shut it. Nobody wants to listen to you bicker.
~-Go away, Slumrat!~- *Alanna and Mary shove Ryu in a box and lock it before running away*