[ Report I ] Hearts and Stars

[plotdeviceturk]

Tseng smiled thinly as he watched the surprisingly large group gathered in one of Shin-Ra's ballrooms, he'd never realized quite how many people considered him family whether they were actually related or not. There was a smattering of brothers and sisters along with their kids, people he couldn't remember seeing but were somehow actually related

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[waterfell]

"Congratulations." There wasn't much warmth to her smile, but that seemed to just be her way; there was no lurking resentment, either. No, what mattered here tonight was the pride of the family - and retiring honorably after a long, full career counted towards that pride.

She was one of the faceless relatives, a distant cousin or something (it always seemed to take awhile to work out how those relationships went). Though young, perhaps late teens or early twenties, she was dressed professionally and carried herself as such.

[plotdeviceturk]

"Thank you." Tseng nodded, returning her lukewarm smile, "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name earlier, Miss...?"

He had a feeling they hadn't been completely informed as to what his job had actually entailed, they probably wouldn't have come if they had.

[waterfell]

He might be surprised. She hadn't always been a doctor; and it's not all she is even now.

"Mizuno Ami," she introduces herself. "Doctor Mizuno." The correction is more a statement of formality and reserve than pride in the title, but of course she's also proud of the results of her own hard work.

[plotdeviceturk]

"I'm glad I have one in the family, Doctor." He said conversationally, slipping a hand in to his pocket. "Do you enjoy your work?"

He could probably put more than a few good words in for her in places if she wanted to move to another location. Something to make up for not being around her entire life.

[tasercopter]

She hadn't expected to find herself at a Shin-Ra shindig, especially not one that has to do with Tseng's retirement. Retirement? Who needs it? She's not big on any kind of party that involves speeches and family members, but the purpose of the affair makes it even worse.

But since it was a formal occasion, Reno had decided to wear a dress. It was slinky and black and far from being the world's most modest garment, yet she was still carrying weapons hidden somewhere on her person. (Of course, she doesn't realize that Tseng might think it odd to see her as a female, regardless of what she was wearing.)

She listens to the speech, but afterward, she only has one word for Tseng: "Bullshit."

[plotdeviceturk]

Tseng heaved a sigh, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He really didn't think he wanted to know why Reno was in drag at a rather important event.

"Reno, we've been over this. You're better prepared than I was when Veld... stepped down, and things have changed. You aren't going to be ordered to take care of me because I know too much, and if another apocalypse happens you have my number. Rude and Elena will be there for you, as well as the rookies."

He'd been a Turk for over two decades and Director for almost eight years, and at nearly fourty he'd surpassed the usual Turk life expectancy just like Veld had.

"You'll be fine Reno."

[tasercopter]

"I'm not worried about me. Of course I'll do fine." When does she not do fine? Great, even. She has complete confidence in her abilities. And she's always got Rude to get her back.

She shakes her head. "I'm thinking about you. What are you even gonna do now? Besides, this ain't nothing like when Veld left. There's no reason for it. Turks aren't supposed to retire." She folds her arms, stubbornly.

[plotdeviceturk]

"Would you rather be attending a funeral?" Tseng asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to get a hobby and drive my good car all the time. Maybe speak at schools about Wutaiian traditions, I could probably write a book. Come in and harass you during audits."

His mouth lifted in a tiny smile, "You'll have to wear your tie."

[plotdeviceturk]

This was one of the many family members he hadn't exactly been looking forward to, there was definitely something of an awkward history between them and he wasn't counting the fact that he'd basically betrayed Wutai durning the war.

"Only if you promise to remind y--" He stopped, swallowed, "Our father that I have no intention of attempting to claim anything. I was shuffled off to a temple when I was old enough to walk because my mother wasn't-" He stopped again and just shook his head. Godo may have donated genetic material to him but Veld had been the one to be his father.

"Sorry, it's not your fault. What do you want to drink?"

[plotdeviceturk]

Tseng would always rather deal with everyone else's problems than his own personal ones; personal things got messy and simply shooting everyone and being done with it wasn't an option if things went bad.

"He should be more worried about you running off and joining a group of strange people who enjoy running all over the planet on wild chases and dragging you along to fight WEAPONs. We have that in common." He sighed, leading the way towards the bar. A drink sounded wonderful, and might help with the impending migrane.

He didn't have any loyalty to Wutai anymore, but he didn't hate it either. He'd long since come to terms with what his leaving had meant, but he still felt he'd made the right decision at the time. It would have been a lot worse without someone who could explain some of the theology and sacred parts of the culture.

"How drunk are you allowed to be?"

[sixthsefira]

It didn't take long to realize where he was when he stumbled into the dream so to speak, and the fact he didn't belong also came quickly on recognition's heels. Despite actually being dressed in a black formal suit and having what remained of his silver hair pulled back into a neat ponytail; Sephiroth did his best to remain on the fringes of the dream.

He wasn't entirely certain how to leave it and he was unable to just wake up and escape things that way, so he would seek to remain an unnoticed party haunting the edges until the man who's dream this belonged to, woke up.

The irony that he was unable to escape a company party even in his dreams was not lost on him.

Threadjack~

[rhapsody_onfire]

Someone reached over and tugged that neat ponytail gently. "Well, well, looks like even in our dreams, we simply cannot escape these little balls, hm~?"

Genesis stood just behind Sephiroth in a red, flowing dress, matching shoes, and her growing hair was curled. While she was rather glad she was here looking as beautiful as she was, she still didn't like the fact that she was here.

[sixthsefira]

Sephiroth turned his attention from the milling crowd before them to the redhead currently beside him. At least the dream had dressed them in decent outfits, his eyes silently took in the red dress briefly before they met Genesis's own eyes. "That would seem to be the case... unfortunately."

[plotdeviceturk]

It was a good try, Tseng almost hadn't noticed the silver haired man lurking in the party. There was a grim set tho his mouth as he approached. He was armed, but... gunshots would be obvious and cause a stir.

"It seems a Turk's Retirement is rare enough to bring the dead back. If you're here to take me back can we at least wait until Reno's induction tomorrow?" He said, hand twitching at his side as he wanted to desperately go for his gun.

[whitesuited]

When he'd realized just where he was, Rufus briefly wondered just why he was thinking of the past, the ballroom they were in was now in ruins. It was soon answered that he was just a player in this dream and not the cause as he heard the man speak. After events in Kalm and afterward, he hadn't actually really given much thought to any of the Turks retiring so early in their lives.. so early in his life even. So, needless to say, he was unsettled not only by the bygone scenery but also by the events taking place within it

[plotdeviceturk]

Tseng held a glass for Rufus, a peace offering more than anything really. If the white clad man hadn't been his father's son he'd have been inducted as a Turk and after all these years he counted as one as far as they cared.

"I'm not abandoning you Rufus; I'll still be around to fetch coffee and prioritize paperwork." He said quietly. How could he explain that he was doing this so he'd stay alive? One more impending apocalypse would probably be his end if he stayed active, this way he could come in and help when the time came and not be on his last leg.

"Reno will do fine."

[whitesuited]

Rufus accepted the glass from the older man silently. He knew that the Turks liked to think themselves a separate entity from the company, but after the company had collapsed in upon itself, they had become something other than what they had been. They might try hiring others and training them to fight or spy under his name, but they would never be like their predecessors. They wouldn't be asked to do the dark and bloody things the Turks had become known for in the time before Meteorfall.

And he would never actually trust them as much as he did the four that he actually half-ass considered family, dysfunctional as it might be, it was a closer relationship than he'd ever held with his actual family. He'd offered them a chance to leave already once and they'd turned him down.

"I don't recall ever firing you." He committed a moment afterward, paraphrasing Reno's quip after he'd given them their chance to distance themselves from him and the company.

[plotdeviceturk]

Tseng swallowed, "You didn't, but it's easier for you all than the alternative." He said, watching the crowd. "You won't have to worry about me being tortured to death or crushed under some rubble. I'd be... outdated if I kept on as Director. Reno's far more suited to the direction the Turks are headed, and I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up anymore."

He took a sip of his own drink, searching for words to explain something like this. "I've already outlived the Turk life expectancy."