Rufus did not continue to argue against Tseng joining the negotiations. Perhaps he had only raised these concerns to show that he cared about his subordinate's well-being, all while knowing that Tseng would not agree to be left behind, no matter what he said. Although they were already running late, the Vice President insisted on having breakfast and taking his time. Tseng would later understand that doing so was only the next part of his plan; making the Wutaian lords wait for them established dominance. Dominance was something Rufus Shinra understood very well, in more than one way, but the Wutaian lords were not often in the position to be dominated by anyone other than their overlord Godo. But they could not simply leave either, although Shinra was clearly disrespecting them and they had every right to end the negotiations there and then.
At breakfast, he looked up and down the long table to find all his comrades accounted for, aside from the two infanterists that had been shot the day before. There was a nervous tension in the room. Reno was tapping his fingers on the table anxiously, and even Sephiroth was shifting uneasily. The only ones who appeared mostly unaffected were Rufus and Tuesti, but Tseng's mind was still too clouded to think very hard about what was happening around him. He was clutching a cup of tea, all while trying to maintain a straight posture with his head spinning even worse than before.
When Rufus finally signaled that he was ready to face the Wutaians, they made their way to the meeting room, with Sephiroth taking the lead and Zack the rear. Tseng was supported by Rude as he could not walk by himself. He began to curse himself for insisting on joining, but it was too late to pull out now, and even if he did, he would probably regret it later, especially if something were to happen to Rufus. He realized very clearly how irrational his thoughts were, considering that he would not be much use in his current state if a fight were to break out, but he was determined to bring the Vice President back home alive, even if he had to sacrifice himself for it.
Tseng was a little surprised to find the Wutaian lords, overlord Godo, and the two strongest of the crescent unit still waiting impatiently. Why they endured such a treatment now after they had clearly been at an advantage the day before, was beyond Tseng's comprehension. The next surprise was already waiting for him as everyone took their seats, and Tuesti sat down in the back row, where Sephiroth had sat yesterday. Rufus had confidently taken the leader position in the front left with Sephiroth on his right hand. Reno and Rude stayed, too, flanking the whole party on the left and right, not sitting down. It was just another act of disrespect of the Shinra party to expect to negotiate with the Wutaian lords and not sit down while doing so. Nevertheless, today Lord Godo had apparently decided to join the conversation, as the veil he had sat behind the day before had been lifted, revealing his richly clad figure and young face with an impressive moustache.
As the peace talks began anew, Tseng quickly realized just how much the situation had changed since the day before, and he had been unconscious through most of it. He was slightly shocked to find out that Rufus was now threatening to outright destroy the city with the very deity that was believed stolen; and that it would be capable to do so in Sephiroth's hands was out the question, considering the havoc even a little girl could wreak with it. This was followed by more accusations by the Wutaian lords, who called Rufus a child molester, which Tseng could not fully understand where these accusations were coming from. He would only later obtain the missing information from third hand and Reno's written report, which would clearly state just what Rufus had threatened to do with Yuffie. But for now, he was blissfully unaware of his master's transgressions.
The parlay came to the point fairly quickly now, because none of the lords seriously doubted that Shinra would make true on their promise to destroy the city using their own guardian deity. That none of the lords voiced serious doubt that Sephiroth would actually execute such an order was surprising to Tseng, seeing as at least a few of them should have known him better. But it suited them just right, and before lunch time arrived, they managed to hammer down the most important terms for the truce and mutual concessions. When Rufus was finally content, he insisted that Reeve Tuesti would be the one to write up an initial draft for the bilateral agreement in order not to relent any control over the situation to Wutai. There was no way for them to get back the Leviathan materia now other than to come to an agreement with Shinra, because they would not be able to stop Sephiroth anyway, in case he decided to either walk out of the city with the materia, or to use it to destroy the city. On the other hand, Lord Godo appeared to really desire peace, but he could not simply overrule the lords who wanted to continue with the war, as they had seen very well the day before. Shinra's threats were just enough to unite the Wutaian lords in favor of protecting what was dear to them all, and accept that a temporary truce with Shinra was at this point the only realistic option to go forward.
The lunch break was short as Rufus insisted on riding the momentum while it lasted. He was full of anticipation of the good things that were about to come, and even Tuesti, who had been both anxious and oblivious at once these past few days appeared serene. Sephiroth was quiet throughout the whole process, doing his best to keep an air of superiority about himself and as much physical and mental distance between himself and his surroundings as possible under the circumstances. He played his part convincingly, although he must have felt wretched with everyone around talking about him destroying a city and killing everything within. Tseng knew Sephiroth as a kind and compassionate person, and although he did not seriously doubt that he would have done it if he was told to do so, the destruction of Wutai would have come at a cost that would be too high for him to shoulder on the long term. Rather, it was Rufus, who Tseng was certain, would not give such an order, not because he cared about Wutai, but because he knew what that cost could possibly be.
Some in their party did not understand that it was all a performance; Zack had looked dissatisfied ever since their arrival, but now his discontent had made way for irritation and anger. Zack was too decent a person to approve of destroying a city, whatever the goal was. Under normal circumstances, Tseng would have left him to his own devices to figure out his future course of action, but seeing as he was one of the now five SOLDIERs 1st class they had, they could not risk one of their strongest questioning his loyalty to the company. Tseng would take the next opportunity to give a serious talking-to and explain to him that there was never any risk for mass destruction to begin with. There were other things as well that he had to discuss with Zack. Things that could not wait even a minute longer than absolutely necessary.
While waiting for Tuesti to finish, Tseng began to feel the exhaustion in his body from just sitting up straight and being awake all morning, and his head started spinning again. He closed his eyes for a moment and rested his head on the table, where a steaming cup of tea was sitting, waiting to be drunk. Once his eyes were shut, he got even dizzier than before, but at least the weight of his own body stopped pulling him down for just a moment. Under the table, Rufus reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly. Their locked-together hands rested on Tseng's thigh for a while as Rufus patiently gave instructions about the specifics of the truce, and Reeve continued to type. Tseng kept his head resting on the table as he savored the warm feeling of Rufus' hand around his, but before he could get enough of it, Tuesti held three sheets of paper with the truce terms in his hands. There was no doubt that he had prepared a draft well in advance, which only needed to be altered to include what had been discussed in the morning. When Rufus pulled back his hand to receive and read the printed treaty, Tseng quietly cursed Tuesti for being so well-prepared and quick today. Although he, too, wanted to go home, just a few more minutes would not have done their cause any harm.
He lifted his head begrudgingly to find Reno staring at him from the doorway where he and Rude were standing guard. From his expression, Tseng could tell that Reno, unsurprisingly, disapproved of what he had seen. He sighed at the thought of the dreadful lecture Reno would give him later. Reno had a certain tendency toward meddling in other peoples' relationships, which was often rooted in jealousy. With his own unrequited love not going anywhere, he had taken it on himself to question everyone on who was everyone's type and who was in love with whom. Although he did not always get actively involved, he did not hide his opinions about other peoples' relationships and feelings. There was no doubt that he would have "sentiments" about Tseng and Rufus.
Sighing, he reached for his tea cup, but before he could even finish it, Tuesti printed two copies of the revised version of the treaty and handed them to Rufus, who stood up and clapped his hands twice. "Well then, gentlemen. Are you ready for the finale?", he announced as Tuesti closed and stashed away his laptop.