Konohagakure no Sato, Saturday Afternoon (Fandom Time) / Feb. 15th (Konoha Time)

[intraspective]

Really, it had been a month and a half now and Ino had to admit that she was—feeling better. Between her father teaching Zack (and water walking had proved to be quite a hilarious thing to watch) and her father teaching her, she was feeling useful and busy without it being anything too taxing.

She hadn’t seen either of her previous teammates, which stung, but Ino stomped down firmly on that as she disentangled her mind from her father’s and ignored his look. It wasn’t the first time she’d avoided… whatever it was he’d wanted to talk about.

And she doubted it would be the last.

“That’s enough for now,” he said, after a moment. “How about you go and get some air?”

It was phrased as a suggestion, but Ino was well used to her father’s orders. With a quick kiss to his cheek, she left the room, went down the long, dark hall and out into the sunshine. It was a lovely day—February, already, which made her head hurt if she thought too hard about the days and how they related to Fandom—but, Ino thought, as she leaned against the balcony and pulled out her phone, hitting speed dial, maybe all that time had been what she’d needed.

And, across universes, her phone call reached…

[For ze raspberried one. Mwahaha. NFB.]

Comments

[raspberryturk]

Ino's phone was ringing. Not the one that had been stepped on, no. The other one. The one with the ShinRa logo on it, that Reno himself had given to her.

He had spent a few hours freaking the hell out, with no word, no call, his head spinning too much to let him hit any button beyond 'redial.' All attempts to contact Portalocity for a quick trip to Konoha had been met with apologies, they couldn't book a trip like that on such short notice on Christmas. Fucking Earth holidays.

So, after hours spent yelling and throwing things across the room and blacklisting himself with several Portalocity outlets across the Eastern Seaboard, Reno had decided to do the next best thing. Try the other phone. Now that he'd remembered it was there at all.

[intraspective]

It was a stupid, silly little ringtone that filled the air and Ino blinked as it took a few moments, seconds, for the noise to sink in.

That it was coming from her... phone?

Why would her phone be ringing?

... It had been a very very long few days, yes.

"Ino."

And she wasn't supposed to sound that empty, but at least she'd answered it?

[raspberryturk]

"Oh, thank fuck," Reno exhaled, as charming as ever. Who needed proper greetings on the telephone when you could just drop an f-bomb in the ear of the person you were calling. "I was beginnin' to worry I'd lost you, Rookie."

And that came out sounding... very carefully flat. Because if it didn't, then he'd sound exactly the way he felt, which was half-panicked and worried sick.

[intraspective]

Her lips trembled at the sound of his voice. It was stupid, right, how she wanted to cry now?

"N-Not me," she said, unable to keep an entirely steady voice. "Can't... Can't keep me down."

She should have--called? Beforehand? Ino shook her head.

[raspberryturk]

"That's my Rookie," he replied, his tone... something edging on gentle. He didn't know what the hell had happened, but he could hazard a guess as to how unpleasant it had been. "You need anything?"

Anything at all. He'd tell the Turks to fuck off for another week if he could just find a Portalocity terminal that would stick him into an emergency portal to get him there.

[intraspective]

She shook her head before remembering that he wouldn't be able to see it.

"I'm not hurt," she told him, which wasn't entirely a lie, but bruises and scrapes were nothing. "I'm okay."

No, no she wasn't.

[raspberryturk]

Reno could tell.

"What happened?"

Besides 'explosions and then yelling and then a dead phone line,' preferably.

[intraspective]

"There--" Ino struggled for a long, long moment to find words, before saying, very flatly. "Konoha don't exist no more."

Just a hole in the ground and struggling survivors.

[raspberryturk]

Reno didn't mean to fall silent like that. He didn't. It was just... a few hours ago, they had been talking about the end of the world...

"Shit, Rookie... I..."

... Had no idea what to say when Midgar had come down. Had no idea what to say now.

"You gonna be there a while, yet?"

[intraspective]

"N-No," she said, that damnable waver in her voice again. "Zack said we're leaving."

And she was so very grateful for it.

[raspberryturk]

Thank Ramuh.

"Comin' back to the island, then?" He was biting his lip, looking at the little bit of packing that he'd managed to do before his almighty freakout. "Still quiet around here. Everyone's still gone for Christmas."

Stupid Christmas.

He was fumbling for his cigarettes without actually being aware of that fact. He needed to do something, and drinking was right out, during a conversation like this one.

[intraspective]

"I don't know," she said, in a lost voice. "I don't want to go back where people might... "

Ask questions. Care. Ino didn't know if she was up to dealing with people, full stop, quite yet. She needed a vacation from her vacation.

[raspberryturk]

Reno fell silent for a long moment, agonizing over that. The last place he'd wanted to be when Meteor had fallen was Midgar, after all...

"Meet me in Junon," he decided, finally. "Turks are movin' out that way, I'll have a room I can put you up in, yo. And the only familiar faces you'll see will be the ones in black suits that know when to mind their own business, yo."

Also, he kind of really wanted to keep an eye on her, and Junon seemed a safer bet than the same island that she'd been freaking out on just a few days ago. Still damaged, but... healing. Maybe the healing would do her some good.

[intraspective]

Ino bit her lip.

Oh, she wanted to take him up on his offer, but...

"Zack, too?"

[raspberryturk]

... Well, fuck. He should have seen that coming. But here was the real measure of his worth as Reno, wasn't it? The one who took the Rookies under his wing?

"Bring him along," he replied, barely missing a beat. "I'll figure somethin' out."

He'd have to warn Tseng. That was all there really was to do.

Well. Almost all.

"Might wanna get him into some civvies before you leave, though. Junon's ShinRa friendly, but a SOLDIER 1st is still gonna attract a lot of attention you ain't gonna want, yo."

Especially considering how many of ShinRa's people in Junon would see the armor, see the hair, see the sword, and realize that they were seeing a ghost.

[intraspective]

"Okay," she said, relief in her voice and maybe half a step away from crying. "Thank you. I know--I know that it's weird and and and--"

And maybe if she said 'and' enough she'd find more words?

[raspberryturk]

"So, it's weird," Reno agreed with a shrug in his shoulders that nearly managed to carry into his voice. "We're used to weird here, yo. If he's fine with it, we're fine with it, too."

Tseng was going to kill Reno for this.

[intraspective]

Slowly and painfully and it might have been something for her to consider, then, had she not been so very... shattered... in and of everything else.

"I'll check with him," Ino replied, blinking hard. "I--thank you. I can't..."

Ino shook her head.

"Thank you," she repeated. "I'll... I'll see you soon, then?"

[raspberryturk]

"I'll see you soon," Reno agreed. "You got my number? Call me before you head in, we can figure out a place to meet, yoto."

Added bonus? It would give him ample time to go running to try to distract the boss.

[intraspective]

"Okay."

She... needed to say more, didn't she?

"I'll call. And civvies. And thank you."

[raspberryturk]

"Don't mention it, Rookie. Just take care of yourself, okay? I'll see you there, yo."

...

Oh, fuck him. What had he just done?