Day 33: Lunch

[tsunagari]

There was a knot in Sai's stomach as he was led back inside to the cafeteria. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he tried to ignore it. What was it? Was he actually uncomfortable with his decision? He couldn't afford to be. This alliance with Itachi was crucial, and he'd just have to try and make sure the others saw it that way

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[thatdamnedninja]

Lunch, huh?

The young ninja was more used to eating less regularly, and... well, less in general. With as much running around as she usually did in the day, sitting down for a big meal was next to impossible. High energy foods that she could carry around easily? Very yes.

Which wasn't to say she wouldn't eat a lot if given the chance! Appetite that was the complete opposite of her size? Very yes.

Yuffie grinned, selecting a little of everything and grabbing a drink before looking around the room. She'd spoken to Cloud on that funky bulletin board thing, but he didn't seem to be there... No Cid, either. But there was... Aha! Reno.

The grin faded into a brief pout, but she brightened again almost immediately. Reno had to be better than no-one, right?

With that in mind, Yuffie strode over. The red-head's back was to her; it presented a very interesting and tempting target-- no! Not yet. Pranks could come later. Grouchy and Cloud were first on her hitlist, anyway, so Reno'd just have to wait in line.

"Fancy seein' you here," she greeted cheerfully, reaching the table.

[offduty]

When he'd said mildly interesting, the ninja wasn't quite who he'd had in mind, but...

Oh, what the hell. She'd do in a pinch, he supposed. Even if she was a little too chipper for his tastes.

Reno cocked an eyebrow, popping another fry into his mouth. "Uh-huh. Fancy that, running into me in such a large, large place of a couple hundred people. Oh, wait."

The sarcasm was evident, but was quickly replaced with a casual curiosity when he spoke next. "Where the hell have you been these past few days, anyway? Thought you went all vanish-y and MIA like the others." He wiggled his fingers in the air, indicating the poof magic of the way people disappeared around here.

[thatdamnedninja]

Yuffie moved around the table, figuring that if he was talking to her, he wouldn't mind her sitting with him- not that she would've cared if he hadn't responded. "You too, huh?" She asked, dropping down into a seat opposite him. "I've never been here before."

First Cid, then Cloud, now Reno? Weird. More than weird, actually; Yuffie was pretty sure she'd remember having been in this sort of place before.

[offduty]

Reno's eyebrows lifted a little higher. Ah. They'd hit the reset button on her. Well, that did make sense, given her long absence. That was funny, in a way. How permanent at all was anything around here?

"Don't worry," he replied. "You're not the only one. Hear they update versions of us from time to time. Seems someone remembers another me having been here awhile back. S'fucking trippy."

[thatdamnedninja]

The Turk, it seemed, had very fine control of his eyebrows. Well, two could play at that game! Yuffie lifted her eyebrows as well, half in imitation, and half in sincere bafflement.

She dug into her food, savouring the taste of the fish (nut-house it may be, whoever was cooking was good). "Trippy sounds like the understatement of the century," she said between bites. "What've they got, some kind of cosmic reset button?"

She paused briefly. There was something she'd been wondering, and now was as good a time as any to ask. Both Cid and Cloud had for her age... Well, Cid had said she looked 'old', the git, but that was just how he was. "How old was this 'other me', anyways?"

[offduty]

Reno shrugged. "Something like that. Hell if I know what's up with this place."

He sucked the salt from the fries off the tip of his thumb, eyeing her for a second or two in response to her question. Huh. How old had she been? He couldn't pinpoint an exact age, just because he hadn't cared to really find out. He was sure it was listed in her file somewhere, but she'd never been important enough to Shin-Ra for him to have bothered reading up.

"I dunno. Sixteen or so?" Come to think of it, she did look slightly older now. "Wait, so how far ahead are you?"

[thatdamnedninja]

Sixteen. Sixteen. Yuffie blinked once, twice, tilted her head to the side. The last time she'd been here, she'd been sixteen, and that had been... what, days ago? According to the other guys from Avalanche, anyway.

She swallowed her mouthful of carrots with difficulty. "I first met you and your buddies when I was sixteen." Damn, she really had been a kid. Not that she'd cared, and not that she cared now. Youngest or not, she could still kick ass!

She laughed, shaking her head, and scooped up a bunch of fries from her plate. "I'm nineteen now."

[offduty]

"Uh-huh." Reno smirked. "I remember rescuing your sixteen year old ass."

Nineteen now, though. Few years later. Still, it wasn't as crazy of a difference as Elena. He didn't think anything else could throw him off after that. But this did explain why Yuffie sounded like less of a brat than the other version.

Not that he'd ever tell her that.

He poked at a piece of fish with his fork before taking a bite. "Ages fluctuate. It's a whole weird timeline thing. Don't ask. Think I'm about..." He paused. "A year behind. Or something."

[thatdamnedninja]

"And I remember kicking your ass, Turk." Yuffie retorted casually. Her smirk was brief but amused, before she shoved the fries in her mouth.

Not that there hadn't been some close calls- she'd never admit it outloud (least of all to his face!) but Reno was a damned good fighter, even if he did have an annoying tendency to run off just when things started to get good.

And that stick thing of his had hurt like a bitch..!

Yuffie snapped herself out of her musings and frowned, thinking for a moment. "The whole thing with Jenova's head and those crazy remnants, right?"

[offduty]

Well, okay. Touché.

"Yeah, but." Reno twirled his fork idly and grinned. "That's 'cause you guys always ran around in groups of three or four. Like chicks heading to the bathroom."

Bored with his food, he pushed his plate aside and planted his elbows on the table, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Got it in one." His eyes narrowed in thought. "Don't know the grand finale, though. Never got a chance to make it all the way to the end."

[thatdamnedninja]

He did have a point there. Sort of. "Didn't we fight three-on-three at one point?" She nibbled on her fork thoughtfully, grinning. "Besides, I bet'cha any one of us could have wiped the floor with you guys on our own."

Shifting, Yuffie lounged back on her chair, arms casually behind her head. "Where did you get up to?" She asked, "I can fill ya in on the rest, if y'want."

However odd the conversation was, the young ninja found herself almost... enjoying it. Reno wasn't all that bad, sometimes. Sure, he'd done some lousy things in the past, but so had she. And at least it wasn't hurting her brain too much, unlike breakfast...

[offduty]

Reno scoffed, amused. "Oh, please. Could say the same to you. We'll call it even, yeah?"

He shrugged a shoulder, dismissing her offer with a wave of his hand. "Nah. I'm told nobody who's anybody dies. Planet didn't blow up again. Good enough for me."

To be honest, he really didn't want to know, and a part of him didn't give enough of a damn about it, either. He'd never found much cause to worry about the future.

[thatdamnedninja]

Yuffie snorted, grin unfading. "Whatever," she replied, in place of a 'yes'. It'd only go around in circles if they tried to continue, anyway.

She swung her legs beneath her chair, shrugging- an awkward move, considering how she was lounging. "Sure?" She asked, and then continued without waiting for an answer. "Suit yourself. I got a question for ya, though."

The question had only just occured to her, and it wasn't like anything would change depending on the man's answer. Yuffie was just following her impulses and her curiousity, as she had done so many times in the past.

[offduty]

Reno would've been prepared to go in circles forever if she was up for it-much to the chagrin of anybody who knew him, he was pretty fucking good at never letting go-but she ended up dropping the subject first. Ah. Too bad. It would've killed the time.

"So shoot," he said, glancing up from where he was studying a hangnail to look at her. "What's on your mind? I ain't goin' on a date with you, though," he added with a smirk. "Before you ask."

[thatdamnedninja]

A date?!

"No way!" Yuffie retorted. She smiled devillishly, a picture of faux-innocence. "'Sides, you're not up to my standards. I don't date people unless they're prettier than Don Corneo, at least."

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her gaze was just a little sharper, just a little more intent.

"You ever heard of Deepground?" She enquired lightly. Deceptively lightly, considering how much she adored Deepground; ever since they'd had the nerve to kidnap people, ever since they'd had the nerve to invade Wutai, Yuffie had longed to beat them back down into the hole they'd crawled out of.

And then blow up the hole.

She forced down the brief flash of irritation carefully, maintaining her smile and easy posture.

[offduty]

Reno batted his eyelashes. "Nobody's prettier than me, babe. You're just pissed 'cause Corneo was the only guy desperate enough to go for jailbait and I accidentally made him fall off a finger."

His playfulness faded as he caught the shift in Yuffie's demeanor despite her casual tone. He'd spent more than enough time as a Turk to be able to read people. Deepground, huh? What'd she have against them?

He shook his head. "Nope. They sound like good friends of yours, though," he remarked dryly. "Wanna introduce me?"