Tseng hung up the phone after consulting Chief Veld about the results of the parlay and the further course of action, spoke a few words with the vice president, and then contacted the central communications office of the Shinra Army to be connected to the military base at Miken Island. After hearing about the situation, the Chief had advised for them to return to Midgar today. Tseng wanted the vice president to have the final word, but Rufus had agreed with Veld, and so their further steps were planned. Tseng could imagine that Rufus was not too thrilled to return to his prison – and Veld had confirmed that was where he was due to return until further notice – and despite its proximity to Wutai, Miken Island would be safe enough for the vice president to stay at, but with it being a military base, it was not an interesting or comfortable place to stay at, quite unlike the Wutaian Capital. Tseng himself would not have minded staying there as he was still unable to stand on his own feet for longer than a few seconds and wanted to get to a hospital as soon as convenient for his superior. On the other hand, he really had to catch up on getting some nutrients, and that tended to be easier for him at home. Perhaps returning to Midgar really was the best option, all aspects considered.
Reno and Rude returned from inspecting the helicopters just as he finished announcing their coming arrival at Miken Island and requesting for a plane to Midgar to be prepared. They had not found anything suspicious in the helicopters aside from a few bugs, which was to be expected. Wutaian "honor" only went so far, and Tseng had faith that Reno and Rude had taken the opportunity to install a few listening devices and cameras here and there during their stay in the capital as well. Tseng still gave everyone instructions to not discuss any sensitive matters on the way back, just in case they had not detected all the bugs, and so they began boarding.
Tseng naturally directed his steps toward the front door of the helicopter, intending to take the co-pilot's seat, but Reno grabbed his arm before he could climb into the seat. "Yo, you're in no condition to co-pilot!" Tseng protested, but he was too weak to even yank away his arm from Reno. "Just sit in the back-", Rude began. "You go sit in the back quietly and get some sleep like a good kid, man", Reno finished the sentence. Rude cleared his throat, but nodded. No doubt he would have said that differently. Much to Tseng's surprise, Rufus grabbed his other arm and concurred: "I think that's a splendid idea. You can keep me company." Reno clicked his tongue in annoyance, but let go of Tseng's arm, while Rude coughed and looked away. And so, Tseng was dragged into the back of the helicopter, where he took his seat next to the vice president, who finally let go of him, albeit unwillingly. Reno took the pilot's seat and one of the infanterists volunteered to co-pilot in Tseng's stead.
"Hey, what's that?", Reno remarked a few moments later while they were waiting for Sephiroth to join them. Tseng followed Reno's gaze to a figure approaching on a motorbike. When she took off her helmet, he recognized Aurum of the Crescent Unit, who approached Sephiroth. He leaned back and said: "Nothing to worry about. Let's wait for them to finish whatever they have to discuss." But Reno continued to watch closely, frowning and squinting his eyes as if that would help him make out what was being said. Even Rufus was watching curiously. "Man, I've always wondered if these two ever had anything going on", Reno contemplated. Tseng sighed audibly, hoping to deter the redhead from prying further, but was proven wrong when Reno exclaimed: "Wow, they are super close!" His nosiness where personal relationships were concerned simply knew no bounds, and he was not above wild speculations, even though he should have known better. "I'm certain that's not the case", Tseng finally said in an attempt to settle the matter. "Hey, hey! She's talking to Zack!", Reno commented, completely ignoring Tseng's remark.
Fortunately, their exchange of words was even shorter, as Reno turned away just moments later, and Tseng could see Zack talking to Sephiroth and the latter acting defensive as they approached the helicopter. Sephiroth, having failed to shut Zack up, climbed into the helicopter with an annoyed look on his face and slammed the door into his comrade's face. He sat down with a deep sigh, but froze when he noticed everyone's eyes on him. Tseng, knowing that the SOLDIER hated being stared at, especially whenever he let his emotions slip by accident, broke the silence by declaring: "We have a long way ahead of ourselves. Let's get going!" Upon being prompted to do so, Reno finally turned to the controls, started the helicopter and they took off. As they did so, Rufus turned toward Tseng with a questioning look on his face. Tseng, unsurprised that the Vice President was not informed about this matter of little consequence, but unable to answer his unspoken question while Sephiroth was present, turned away and looked out the window as Wutai City shrank away.
As soon as they had reached a comfortable altitude and had left the valley the capital was situated in, he turned his gaze away from the window and asked: "Would anyone care to fill me in on what happened yesterday?" He was met with a short moment of silence, but then Reno reminded them: "Guys, no classified information." Tseng nodded in acknowledgement. "The short version is", Rufus started. "The Kisaragi girl had the Leviathan materia all along. She tried to hit us with it. Well, that didn't work, but it destroyed a few houses. We caught her, took the materia away from her and I think you know the rest."
Tseng's head was spinning and this time he was certain it was not just from the blood loss. "That sounds bizarre." Reno added: "And I was right about what I told you two days ago, man. Well, at least partially." Tseng scratched his head. Reno had suspected that Zack had taken the materia out of the cave where he believed it was being kept. But somehow, it must have ended up in Yuffie's hands. Zack really had a few questions to answer. "And he threatened to make that girl his mistress if they did anything stupid", Sephiroth added out of the blue while looking out the window and pointing at Rufus. Tseng froze, staring with wide eyes at Rufus, who folded his hands over his stomach and twiddled his thumbs. "It's purely political, I assure you", he said with a smirk. "Though I still think she'd make a fine SOLDIER and it's a shame we couldn't bring her with us." If she could summon espers at such a young age, it could not be denied that she had a gift for magic, although that was hardly enough to be accepted into SOLDIER. "It's a good thing nothing happened to you, sir. To summon Leviathan in a city is beyond reckless", Tseng contemplated. He was met with silence again as Reno and Rufus exchanged a quick glance, and Reno added: "Who knows what could have happened if the flood wave hadn't been stopped by Shiva." Tseng raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know the Wutaians had a Shiva materia. Who summoned it?" Beside him, Rufus pressed a finger on his lips, suppressing a laugh. "It was a cat", Sephiroth threw in. "A cat?", Tseng echoed in disbelief. Rufus turned to him and said with a smirk in a happy tone: "Who knows." The expression on his face betrayed that he knew very well who did it, but Tseng decided not to pursue the topic any further just in case the Wutaians really still had their helicopter bugged.
"Just tell me later", he closed and turned toward the window where there still was nothing but the ocean in view. The even humming of the helicopter and the unchanging view soon made him drowsy until his body finally claimed some much-needed rest.