The alley erupted. A surge of bodies pressed in, a wave of hostility crashing down on Reno and Cloud. The initial scuffle had drawn a crowd, and now, spurred on by a bloodthirsty cry, they turned into a mob. Fists, boots, and makeshift weapons lashed out, a chaotic flurry of violence aimed at the two interlopers. Retreat became the only viable option.
Reno, agile and quick-witted, weaved through the throng, his rod spun, deflecting blows and momentarily stunning those who dared to get too close. Cloud, a bulwark of strength, carved a path through the press, the flat of his Buster Sword shoving aside bodies, creating a momentary pocket of space for them to move. The narrow alley became a gauntlet, each step a struggle against the crushing weight of the mob.
The rain continued to fall, slicking the ground beneath their feet, adding a treacherous element to their desperate flight. The air filled with the roar of the crowd, punctuated by grunts of pain and the clang of metal against metal. The flickering gaslights cast long, dancing shadows, distorting the scene into a nightmarish tableau. The stench of sweat, grime, and something acrid – perhaps burning trash, perhaps something worse – choked the air.
They stumbled out of the alley's mouth and into a slightly wider street, the mob spilling out after them like a pack of ravenous hounds. The relative openness offered a brief respite, a chance to gain some distance, but the pursuit was relentless. The Sector 5 slums, once a maze of unknown dangers, now became their escape route, a labyrinth they had to navigate blindly, with the baying of the mob echoing at their heels. Each turn, each narrow passage, was a gamble, a desperate bid for freedom in a city that had turned against them.
"Distract them." Reno said and ran forward.
Cloud might think he was resigning, but soon Reno found himself at the top of one of the old, almost ancient buildings. He sent a kick on the small balcony support, that was holding On two rusted bolts. At the same moment supports broke and the entire construction start falling. Stone, paint and all the dirt and broken object, collected there for years rained upon the mad crowd that was after Cloud. He managed to escape and both were running on a side street to the safe again.
Reno's outburst echoed in the narrow street, swallowed by the relentless rain. The adrenaline still coursed through him, fueling his frustration. He glared at Cloud, his usual nonchalance replaced by a simmering anger. The carefully constructed facade of indifference had crumbled, revealing the raw nerves beneath. This mission was turning into a disaster, and he wasn't about to let Cloud's stoicism slide. They pounded through the rain-slicked streets, the sounds of their pursuit fading but not gone. The Sector 5 slums, a maze of interconnected alleys and crumbling buildings, offered a semblance of cover, but the feeling of being hunted clung to them like the damp air.
Cloud, seemingly unfazed by Reno's outburst, kept a steady pace, his eyes scanning their surroundings. His silence only fueled Reno's irritation. He wanted answers, explanations, something more than the stoic mask Cloud perpetually wore. They reached a small, relatively deserted square, a momentary island of calm in the storm-ravaged city. A single flickering lamp cast an eerie glow on the puddles scattered across the ground, reflecting the desolate cityscape like fractured mirrors. The rhythmic dripping of water from the eaves of the surrounding buildings was the only sound that broke the uneasy silence.
"We need a plan." Cloud finally spoke, his voice low and steady, as if their near-death experience was just a part of his usual day.
"No really? That's an idea! We should write that down somewhere!" Reno couldn't hide the sarcasm from his voice. "Because running blindly like idiots didn't do us no good!"
Cloud didn't answer, seemingly focused on other things, making Reno even madder.
"And don't even try to blame me, pal. I told you it's a bad plan..."
"Yes you did. And did you wait? You stepped in, messing up everything!" Cloud finally looked at him. His face still had no emotion but the voice revealed something more than anger. Desperation. Or simply being exhausted.
"We had a clear task" Reno kept throwing fire at him. "Collect information, find who is behind the conspiracy. Nobody will even talk after tonight! And I think we already found what we were after. Bunch of fanatics hating on Shinra. That's in no favor to ANY of us!"
"Would you shut up?" Cloud was making circles around, at some point got his hooded jacket and threw it away.
"I can't even..." Reno start walking again, rain was flowing into his back, his jacket, shirt, all wet, sticking cold to his back.
Reno wiped the water from his eyes and turned left, the right street was closed.
"I don't know how I agreed to this." Red haired spat against him. "That was the first and the last time, I swear! Stupid Soldier!"
"Keep those for Rufus, I am not interested of listening." Cloud was also wet from head to toe and the last place he wanted to be right now was lost in the old Midgar with Reno and his big mouth.
"No wonder Tifa wanted to leave you." Reno mumbled, his feet angrily splashing the pools.
"What?" Cloud looked at him.
They stopped, not a soul around, rain was keep punishing them for daring being out just now. Reno realized he said it out loud and felt awkward. Even more awkward made him feel the fact Cloud didn't yell at him or tried to kill him, he was standing under the rain and staring into him.
"I... I'm sorry, forget it."
"She said that?"
"It was back before the fight with Genesis, she was mad at you, she didn't mean..."
Cloud went to the outside staircase of some house with dark windows and sat, dropping his sword that made a loud metallic sound and spilled the pools.
He was sitting there, suddenly lifeless, rain was keep raining, night was keep running. Cloud hid his face in his palms and Reno felt like a jerk. He shouldn't say that. He was mad about the ruined mission and dropped it.
"I am always this far of losing her." Cloud gathered his fingers that almost touched. "Sephiroth almost killed her, then those remnants, the battle against Genesis, now this... Not to mention I left her behind to become a Soldier. I never thought on top of all this I will lose her like this...That she would walk away."
"Dude, come on, you didn't lost her. She was just mad at you, girls gets mad for anything."
Reno stood awkwardly in the rain, the silence between them was interrupted only by the rhythmic drumming of water on the metal rooftops. Cloud's quiet confession hung heavy in the air, heavier than the rain itself. Reno, accustomed to Cloud's aloof demeanor, found himself in unfamiliar territory. He wasn't used to seeing this vulnerable side of the ex-Soldier, and he certainly wasn't equipped to deal with it. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, the dampness of his clothes a tangible discomfort against his skin.
The flickering gaslight from the nearby lamppost cast long, dancing shadows across the square, painting the scene in shades of black and orange. The rain continued to fall, a relentless curtain of water obscuring the cityscape. The air was thick with the smell of wet metal and decay, a familiar scent of Midgar's underbelly.
"Hey," Reno began, "We can't stay here forever..." He wasn't sure what he was trying to say, just filling the silence with words, hoping to dispel the sudden weight that he brought by talking without thinking. He wasn't good at this, at comfort, at dealing with emotions, his own or others'. He usually deflected with humor, with sarcasm, with a carefully constructed facade of indifference. But those defenses seemed inadequate now, flimsy shields against the raw emotion emanating from Cloud.
"Fuck me" Reno mumbled to himeslf, made a few steps back sitting on some crates or whatever. It was too late to worry about his uniform, or catching cold. He got shivers but there wasn't a place to hide from the rain, and Cloud didn't seem to move. "I don't think you have to worry." Reno said in his soaked shoes. Light of the street lantern was dancing in the pools in front of him under the whip of the rain. "So many years passed and after all, she didn't leave. I think she made her decision."
Cloud raised his eyes. Reno wasn't sure if that was rain, running down on his face. Decided not to stare.
"She gives me thousands of chances and I waste them all." the weak voice of the other man could be barely heard under the splash of the rain and the weight of self regret. "At some moment she will run out of second chances."
"Cry me a river, Soldier! Reno suddenly pounds his fist against the wall. "Are you going to pity yourself here, or maybe do something?" He straightened up, water streaming from his red hair into his eyes, his posture radiating an impatience.
Reno turned and started to walk away, the angry thud of his shoes against the wet pavement a stark counterpoint to the soft patter of the rain. He didn't look back, but he didn't go far either. Just a few paces away, he paused, his back to Cloud, a subtle challenge in his stance.
The city lights blurred in the distance, a hazy glow through the downpour, offering no solace, only a reminder of the sprawling metropolis indifferent to their predicament. They were so close, yet so far from it right now. Shinra castle could be seen somewhere in the distance, shining like a diamond in the rainy night.
Cloud would gladly stand under the rain for eternity, but he realized Reno was waiting for him. He got his sword from the ground, all stained in mud, and put it back in its holder.
"What are we going to tell Rufus?" Cloud asked.
"I don't know. As I think, he probably expected us to fail." Reno smiled at that suggestion. "I think he's punishing me for crashing his car."
"Be happy. At some hierarchy they will expect you to cut your finger. " Cloud noticed.
"Nah, Rufus is not like that. He's more of a leader, not a dictator. Previous president was. We are like a big crazy family there. It is for me at least."
Reno realized he said too much and shut it.
"Don't you have someone?" Cloud looked at him. He willingly avoided the topic of Akane.
"Nah, I'm not into these things. Work is my life, it's all I have."
Cloud realized why Reno burst about the ruined mission. He should probably work with him, he realized Rufus asked him to team up with the Turk, and instead he left him behind. Some things were so scarily obvious, and he couldn't see them even under his nose.
"What else Tifa said? About me?"
Reno didn't want to share that they were talking about Akane that day. He tried to remember and a flash of him throwing bombs at the rat came out.
"She said she will fight. And that there is a better tomorrow. Something like that. Can we change the topic?"
"Shhh!" Cloud raised his hand.
"Don't "shhh" me, what...
At the only exit of the alley they were walking was standing a huge man turned his back to them. He was talking to someone little by size. Cloud pointed at Reno to hide and both found spots in the shadows to listen from.
"... Time for a change. For so long we were tolerating that Shinra faggot and his army of clowns. No mercy this time. We are taking them all down. The new ministry is coming."
"Well, I guess now we know what they are up to." Cloud said quietly.
At that moment both men turned back and Reno got out of his cover, abandoned the good manners and brought his gun out.
"Run. Run!"