fandomhigh | Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

"You ain't gonna win 'em all." Nope, there wasn't even a 'Yo, Rookies!' today as Reno made his way into the Danger Shop, only a couple of minutes late. There had been an important stop for coffee this morning, which he was now pausing to take a mouthful of as he settled in. Suck it up, kids. "You ain't. And, much as you all wanna think otherwise, you ain't all gonna be able to survive everything that life throws at you without a few bumps an' nicks along the way, yo."

This was Reno-ese for 'people get their idiot butts killed out there all the time.'

"I know, you all been spoiled by Fandom's practically nonexistent mortality rate. An' maybe you figure you're all invincible or some shit as a result, an' you can handle anything that you go up against. But news flash, kiddos: You ain't. And you can't. I don't care how strong you are. I don't care what superhuman abilities you got. Someday, you won't be able to out-run, out-think, or out-fight whatever it is that's comin' down on top of us. Someday, you will be thrust so friggin' hard on your ass that you will consider yourself lucky if someone shows up like a knight in shinin' armor to haul your sorry self outta there."

He smirked. He shrugged.

"So, we're gonna have a bit of a team-buildin' exercise, yo. Bit of a go against the Danger Shop, here. And I want you to all try an' tackle it without powers, to try an' keep things on an even playing field. You're each gonna break off into pairs. One of you's gonna play injured and pretty much useless, and you gotta get your ass rescued, yo. It's up to your partner to drag you outta harm's way." He nodded, and the Danger Shop flickered. And suddenly, everyone was standing on one end of a very shoddy looking suspension bridge. "Across this, zoto."

Really, he didn't even need to toss in enemy fire for this exercise. You guys would have an interesting enough time of this activity as it is.

[Open!]

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Reno's nasty scowl turned into a tired, wry little smile.

"Midgar's just crawlin' with nasties," he agreed.

"Lucky me I ain't defenceless," she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Zack still thinks the Wutai'll stay 'way from me."

That was--her seeing what he said to that.

"What, after takin' 'em down?" Reno's deadpan look. He would show you it. "He get hit around the head a few times?"

... Reno meant that in the nicest way.

"I'm just goin' by what Zack said," she repeated.

When in doubt, shift the blame to the boyfriend who wasn't there to defend himself.

"Didn't much think so myself." Ino shrugged. "The ones I fought weren't that strong--I know there's stronger, but."

If they were just the basics, she figured she could handle herself.

"The Wutai are a bunch you wanna steer clear of, almost as much as AVALANCHE," Reno replied. "Shit, I feel like I should be writin' down a list, yo. 'If some jerkasses in red approach you, run. If some jerkasses who are chantin' about death to the ShinRa approach you, run. If some jerkasses gabblin' on in Wutaian approach you, run. Shit, just don't stop friggin' runnin', yo."

"I ain't goin' to manage to get much done if running is all I do," she said, a little softly.

... Point. Much as he hated to admit it.

"You program Tseng's number into that new phone of yours?"

He knew she had it. He also knew that she'd probably stolen it from Zack's phone. So.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Third number I put in," she replied, like that should've been obvious.

"Well, there you go. I probably can't show up if it comes to that. But Tseng's gonna wanna know about AVALANCHE's whereabouts anyhow, and if you're one of his informants..."

Shrug.

"Contact," she corrected, smoothing back a stray bit of hair. "Ain't an informant yet--you gotta trust those a smidgen, or have their measure."

"Contact," Reno echoed easily, waving a dismissive hand. "Either way, you got his attention, yo. Helps, too, that you're datin' Zack. Tseng's got a soft spot for Zack, yo."

Or a hard-on for him. Reno didn't judge.

She arched one eyebrow.

"A soft enough spot to help me out of a tight one, or soft enough to go to my funeral and pat Zack consolingly?"

There were degrees here.

Reno arched an eyebrow right back.

"You ever see Zack makin' a sad face when you know you could'a stopped it?"

Really, now. Even Tseng wasn't made of stone.

"That's different," she said loftily. "Keepin' him happy and stable is my job."

"And maybe," Reno noted, "Tseng's aware of that, yo. And it ain't like you're the only one out there allowed to give a damn about the boy, zoto."

At least, Reno hoped not. Because saving Zack's idiot ass would be a challenge, if they couldn't even put forth an effort to make people like him.

"I know that," she replied, a bit sharply. "Quit puttin' words in my mouth just 'cause I ain't fallin' over myself to believe that Tseng would move his ass to save mine. He don't like me. He has got no reason to. Relyin' on the strength of his friendship with someone else is goin' to make me uneasy."

Reno just snorted.

"Clearly, you don't know Tseng like I do," he replied. "Don't rely on his friendship with nobody. Make yourself a friggin' resource he can't afford to lose. You took down some Wutai the other day? Where were you at the time?"

"Sector 8," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Was headin' back to Zack's room."

And now, Reno was raising an eyebrow.

"You got no idea about Sector 8, do you?" Oh, the amusement. It was oozing in thick, now. "How 'bout when the AVALANCHE creep approached you? Where was that?"

"Same," she said, a little flatly. Ino didn't much like being laughed at.

"And most of the time you spend with Zack?"

Bear with him, Ino. He was getting to a point, here.

"Mostly?" she said, tilting her head and frowning at him. "Maybe half this weekend--Zack had a lot of missions I weren't allowed on."

"Trust me then," Reno said, shrugging his shoulders simply. "You're an asset."

Sector 8 was Turks' turf.

"...How do you figure that one?"

Dubious. Duuubious.

"Who do you figure got to pick up the bodies of them Wutai when you were done with 'em, Rookie? That shit would'a been all over Midgar news if it was anyone but the Turks."

Gotta love the Turks.

Re: Talk to Reno!

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