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intraspectiveIt had taken her ages to fly across the greater part of a continent, and then over a piece of the ocean, in the dead of winter. Ino never wanted to repeat that journey, but it had given her plenty of time to think. Getting into her emails without being noticed was still a… well, she'd managed. But it had been a challenge. Ino was a born hacker of minds, not of machines.
It had been worth it though, when she'd found the first piece of the puzzle. Her phone bill was higher than it had been in years. At first, she'd thought it was due to her calls to Fandom, but while that made a bit of a difference, the bigger one was… Zack's account was in use.
She'd lost two days to that revelation, what it had to mean, and the rage and guilt and horror that it had inspired in her. What had kept her in one place had been less the rage and more the twin emotions of stark betrayal and incredulous joy. Neither had been conductive to stealth, so she hadn't tried. She'd taken her time.
If Zack's account was in use, if Zack was alive… then she'd been lied to for years. It sent her straight back into the empty, ugly spaces of herself where she could do anything, the empty, broken places she'd retreated into after losing him the first time around.
It took two days for her to shake that off, to pick herself up, to be an adult. She had to know the truth. She had to go home.
Now, she was home.
Midgar was home, in all of its dirty, green-clouded sky glory. It was riveting with electric lights that crackled through the infrastructure. There were a million, a hundred million ways and places to hide in Midgar. Ino loved her home. It was far different from the home she’d grown up in but it was hers, now, and even though anger boiled through her veins just being able to skulk through the streets of home made her feel better.
Not better enough to forgive Tseng, of course, not entirely, but better enough that she stealthed off for a shower—in some rundown hotel in the slums of Sector 4—and when she emerged from the room, her hair was squeaky-clean and loose for the first time in nearly a month. It should have brushed the floor by now, especially as it was weighed down by being wet, but Ino had spent a great deal of time and chakra to make her hair do exactly what she wanted when she wanted. It wasn’t particularly noticeable, though her hair was always noticeable anyway, but her chakra was curling the edges up from the ground, tucking them away and keeping it clean. Despite being wet, her hair had a certain bounce to it, thanks to her chakra. It never touched the floor.
She was wearing her uniform and her blue eyes were ice cold. When the receptionist wasn’t looking, Ino dropped her key off and left, unnoticed, in a swirl of hair, and the softest puff of smoke.
By the time she reached the ShinRa Building, her hair was dry and true night was edging over the city, which only made everything brighter and darker at the same time. Getting into the building was easy. She was a Turk. Getting into it without Tseng or any of her coworkers noticing was harder, but not impossible. Especially since, when she brushed her mind out for their locations, most of them weren’t even around. Irritation spiked, but she smoothed it away.
Like all Turks, Ino knew a great number of places where she could hide out of sight of the cameras and listening devices, and do some of her own listening. She picked a spot down on the twenty-third floor, made certain none of the devices or cameras had been shifted, and then, wrapped in an illusion that she was just one of the row of potted plants, Ino went looking for confirmation to what she already suspected, the reason why she’d been exiled in Icicle.
Professional courtesy meant she rarely delved into her coworker’s minds. But Ino had been stuck in Icicle for months and then had spent a few weeks flying on a stick over the greater part of a continent and then an ocean. Zack was (maybe) alive and no one had told her. For years. She was all out of professional courtesy.
What she found was what she expected, though it still left her feeling splintered.
Still hiding, still wrapped in her illusion, Ino took refuge in the stairwell, and let it go. She wasn't the kind to smoke, still hated anything running through her body other than blood and sugar, and this wasn't like years ago, where she'd just wanted the pain to stop.
She was older and stronger and so very tired. Ino sat on the stairs between floors thirty and thirty one, her hair spread out around her, her elbows resting on her knees as she leaned forward, and she thought.
Silly toddled along her shoulder, cheeping at her. Ino kissed his fuzzy little head and thought.
It was tempting, so tempting, to barge in on Tseng, get the drop on him, even slit his throat with her Crystal Cross.
But while she was grieving and hurt and uncertain of what to do, there was still the fact that, she was a Turk, and she was thinking. She didn't know why Tseng had done what he'd done, why he'd lied in the first place.
She was a Turk, though, and so was he. He'd done the job.
Ino closed her eyes, and waited for him to come to her. It was better that way, than going to him. Now that she'd dropped the illusion, he'd know she was in the building shortly, if he didn't already.
Think, she told herself. He trained you. He loves you. He loves all of the Turks. Why would he do this?
It was a fragile, ephemeral conclusion that she came to, but it was the only one that made sense:
I think he was trying to protect us. Or maybe even just me. But from what, and why?
[For the one she's waiting for, please.]
It had been worth it though, when she'd found the first piece of the puzzle. Her phone bill was higher than it had been in years. At first, she'd thought it was due to her calls to Fandom, but while that made a bit of a difference, the bigger one was… Zack's account was in use.
She'd lost two days to that revelation, what it had to mean, and the rage and guilt and horror that it had inspired in her. What had kept her in one place had been less the rage and more the twin emotions of stark betrayal and incredulous joy. Neither had been conductive to stealth, so she hadn't tried. She'd taken her time.
If Zack's account was in use, if Zack was alive… then she'd been lied to for years. It sent her straight back into the empty, ugly spaces of herself where she could do anything, the empty, broken places she'd retreated into after losing him the first time around.
It took two days for her to shake that off, to pick herself up, to be an adult. She had to know the truth. She had to go home.
Now, she was home.
Midgar was home, in all of its dirty, green-clouded sky glory. It was riveting with electric lights that crackled through the infrastructure. There were a million, a hundred million ways and places to hide in Midgar. Ino loved her home. It was far different from the home she’d grown up in but it was hers, now, and even though anger boiled through her veins just being able to skulk through the streets of home made her feel better.
Not better enough to forgive Tseng, of course, not entirely, but better enough that she stealthed off for a shower—in some rundown hotel in the slums of Sector 4—and when she emerged from the room, her hair was squeaky-clean and loose for the first time in nearly a month. It should have brushed the floor by now, especially as it was weighed down by being wet, but Ino had spent a great deal of time and chakra to make her hair do exactly what she wanted when she wanted. It wasn’t particularly noticeable, though her hair was always noticeable anyway, but her chakra was curling the edges up from the ground, tucking them away and keeping it clean. Despite being wet, her hair had a certain bounce to it, thanks to her chakra. It never touched the floor.
She was wearing her uniform and her blue eyes were ice cold. When the receptionist wasn’t looking, Ino dropped her key off and left, unnoticed, in a swirl of hair, and the softest puff of smoke.
By the time she reached the ShinRa Building, her hair was dry and true night was edging over the city, which only made everything brighter and darker at the same time. Getting into the building was easy. She was a Turk. Getting into it without Tseng or any of her coworkers noticing was harder, but not impossible. Especially since, when she brushed her mind out for their locations, most of them weren’t even around. Irritation spiked, but she smoothed it away.
Like all Turks, Ino knew a great number of places where she could hide out of sight of the cameras and listening devices, and do some of her own listening. She picked a spot down on the twenty-third floor, made certain none of the devices or cameras had been shifted, and then, wrapped in an illusion that she was just one of the row of potted plants, Ino went looking for confirmation to what she already suspected, the reason why she’d been exiled in Icicle.
Professional courtesy meant she rarely delved into her coworker’s minds. But Ino had been stuck in Icicle for months and then had spent a few weeks flying on a stick over the greater part of a continent and then an ocean. Zack was (maybe) alive and no one had told her. For years. She was all out of professional courtesy.
What she found was what she expected, though it still left her feeling splintered.
Still hiding, still wrapped in her illusion, Ino took refuge in the stairwell, and let it go. She wasn't the kind to smoke, still hated anything running through her body other than blood and sugar, and this wasn't like years ago, where she'd just wanted the pain to stop.
She was older and stronger and so very tired. Ino sat on the stairs between floors thirty and thirty one, her hair spread out around her, her elbows resting on her knees as she leaned forward, and she thought.
Silly toddled along her shoulder, cheeping at her. Ino kissed his fuzzy little head and thought.
It was tempting, so tempting, to barge in on Tseng, get the drop on him, even slit his throat with her Crystal Cross.
But while she was grieving and hurt and uncertain of what to do, there was still the fact that, she was a Turk, and she was thinking. She didn't know why Tseng had done what he'd done, why he'd lied in the first place.
She was a Turk, though, and so was he. He'd done the job.
Ino closed her eyes, and waited for him to come to her. It was better that way, than going to him. Now that she'd dropped the illusion, he'd know she was in the building shortly, if he didn't already.
Think, she told herself. He trained you. He loves you. He loves all of the Turks. Why would he do this?
It was a fragile, ephemeral conclusion that she came to, but it was the only one that made sense:
I think he was trying to protect us. Or maybe even just me. But from what, and why?
[For the one she's waiting for, please.]
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:53 am (UTC)She had been too close to the situation. Too likely to get herself killed. And now the world was inside-out and upside-down, and Tseng was finally, finally, after far too damn long, taking this situation into his own hands.
All due respect to Verdot, but he could shove this situation up his ass.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:54 am (UTC)That was... interesting. She wasn't sure what to think of it, underneath her flat, carefully-held shell.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:55 am (UTC)With the rest on standby in case he needed to do something drastic.
And now her.
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Date: 2017-01-04 01:56 am (UTC)She made it a question.
"You... what do you want from me?"
And why should she give it to him. Why shouldn't she just find Zack and run? The portals were up. She could.
She could.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:57 am (UTC)"I want... to ask you about that island."
No. He wanted her to take Zack to that island. The only place he could think of offhand that ShinRa wouldn't look. Somewhere safe.
Possibly the only place that was safe.
"And then I want your help saving Zack's life."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:58 am (UTC)Ino sighed, shoulders slumping. "Ne," she said, in her native language, which wasn't Wutaian, though it passed as such, might as well have been as such, "am I still a Turk?"
Did she still belong? Wasn't this causing trouble for him?
Why hadn't she just killed him?
She didn't ask all of that but... Wutaian was better at getting the subtleties across. She wasn't asking did she still have a job. She was asking about her family.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 01:59 am (UTC)"Iris." He pulled himself to his feet and offered her a bow. Something that would have been full and respectful and apologetic, something entirely too Wutaian to be considered acceptable within the company, though he had to be somewhat careful to not simply dump the chicobo from his shoulder as he did so. "You are among the best of the Turks."
And he had no words to express how sorry he was that none of this had come to light sooner.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:00 am (UTC)Ino stared at him, seeing him, and then, to her horror, her eyes filled with tears.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:01 am (UTC)The possibility that she might start to cry hadn't exactly been one of them. And so he hoped that he could be forgiven the most brief of utterly lost expressions when he realized what it was that he was seeing. He recovered admirably, straightening up and smoothing down the front of his suit jacket, but tears...
Really, all things considered, he probably should have anticipated a strong emotional reaction that didn't involve her immediately attempting to break his neck. Especially given her relationship with Zack. And her place among the Turks. And so his voice was quiet and reverent and laced with guilt as he said, "I'm sorry, Iris."
Anything more than that would have only been excuses. She deserved better than that.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:02 am (UTC)Maybe, if she had waited a night, gotten some rest, this wouldn't have happened. But she couldn't wait.
Furiously, the motion jerky, Ino dashed the tears away.
"What do you need from me first?"
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:03 am (UTC)Any Turk worth his necktie would know to try to see if there was any new activity in the company-owned messaging system of the man they were trying to chase down. That part had been easy. Tseng had checked mostly just to be thorough, and he'd been not entirely unsurprised to see that there had been new activity.
Tracing that activity to its source had surprised him, though. Surprised him, and left him feeling more tired than ever. Zack's phone.
Somebody had been paying for Zack's phone.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:04 am (UTC)(She still wondered if she'd been talking to a ghost. She was scared to find out. Some of their conversations had hurt.)
Still, she paused, eyes darkening. "And offer him a way out?"
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:05 am (UTC)Zack deserved that much. Deserved the choice he'd never been given. And if anyone could give it to him, it was Iris.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:09 am (UTC)"Now?"
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Date: 2017-01-04 02:09 am (UTC)Just... hopefully soon. Zack only had so much time out there. Not that he imagined Iris needed to be told as much.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:10 am (UTC)She pressed her lips into a tight, thin line.
"Has he been seen near Midgar?"
His sword had been in Aerith's church. Somehow... somehow she didn't think the sword had been too far from where he'd died, in that other world. Near Midgar, if not in it.
(For the first time in years she thought about that strange patch of flowers they'd come across, outside the city...)
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:12 am (UTC)"He was last seen near the Cosmo highway. We've been given no reason to think he's left it, yet."
He was certain she could guess which direction Zack was headed.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:14 am (UTC)Gongaga.
Of course he'd head for home.
She let her breath out in a sigh. "Then there's time."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:16 am (UTC)"What do you plan to do about... his companion?"
Ino didn't care. She'd never cared about Cloud.
But Zack would. Did.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:19 am (UTC)"We declare him dead. Body impossible to salvage. The company is interested in his value as a scientific project, but if he's gone, there's little point in looking into that. We'll need somewhere safe to hide him until I can arrange proper medical assistance." He pulled in a deep breath. "At some point, I'm going to need you to tell me what you know about the multiverse."
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Date: 2017-01-04 02:20 am (UTC)As it was, her gaze was flat. Unfriendly.
"And this--what can I tell Zack of this?"
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Date: 2017-01-04 02:21 am (UTC)On this matter, he wasn't going to dance around things any longer.
"Anything you need to."
They were going to save Zack, ShinRa be damned.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:22 am (UTC)It wouldn't have been like this.
"Yeah. Alright."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-04 02:23 am (UTC)He nodded briskly, squaring his shoulders and regarding the stairs.
"Let me know once you've managed to contact him. We'll need to move quickly from there. We can't afford to have other branches of the company tracing him down."
And it was only a matter of time before they realized that his phone was still functioning, too.
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