#fateofflames

(  ❛  Seriously? ❜  )

It was not the wisest of responses nor was it a response that anyone was expecting. For a young hot-head, Reno knew better when it was the appropriate time to allow his personality to escape without restrictions and when to be absolutely civil. His obedience was perfectly crafted and had fallen out of his grasp in an instant. It was the nature of the beast, of a foul-mouthed and foul-tempered street kid who fought and clawed for a position outside of the slums. With a sharp look directed his way, Reno returned to civility with a nod of both acceptance and apology.

There were a few Turks who routinely concealed sticks up their asses, but none quite carried an entire tree trunk like the leader of the Turks. It was amazing Verdot managed to keep the integrity of his rectum! The scarlet haired Turk remained professional throughout the rest of the debriefing, only uttering a response when absolutely necessary, and only after the meeting did he allow himself to sigh and grumble in the presence of his partner. WHY HIM? The question was extremely warranted. Was it a punishment, or a test?

He thought himself beyond needing to be tested, however working under the iron fist of ShinRa Senior was a daily test of willpower and strength. If the President so wished it, all the Turks could be benched as office workers or janitors or chocobo wranglers. Rude with his quiet judgement did not perceive the huge issue, then again the bald and brilliant had been a stable asset since day one, or so Reno assumed. There was no doubting Reno's loyalties or his skills, but he did run . . hot, adrenaline fueled, injury prone, liability enthusiast, and extremely talented above all.

He would not be a Turk, one of the best of the best, was he not skilled and professional. As they said ( they being Reno ) the most gifted were often perceived as odd or rough around the edges. His kind of perfection was simply difficult to appreciate. Rude appreciated it to some degree, though that had taken a bit of time and mutual respect. Would the little SOLDIER boy be able to recognize how perfect Reno was? It didn't matter. Some SOLDIER's opinion, even if it was from Sephiroth himself, did not matter. It was Reno who was stuck. It was. . what'shisface who should cared what Reno thought of him.

Although he was not in command of the Turks, being A Turk put him in a place of superiority and leadership. So, being a position of power, he actually liked working with the gun grunts. Nameless and faceless hero-wannabes were just so fun to push around and test in the battlefield. Ans sure, maybe Reno enjoyed watching them train for more than just the sadism. Reno, however, drew the line at watching and bossing around; being assigned to work WITH a SOLDIER was an insult, a newly appointed 2nd class no less. Reno was going to put him through the ifrit-damned ringer.

(  ❛  What, looking for a reward? ❜  )

A dog treat perhaps  — he just barely bit back. He wouldn't hesitate bullying the grunts around, but Zack Fair was a 2nd class after all. Was he deserving of the position or was ShinRa desperate? Reno felt as though his tongue would be cut out just by thinking that. ShinRa liked its soldiers young, but damn, Zack looked like he came out of a camp in the country. The Turk had actually noticed Fair before, having peeked in the rigorous SOLDIER training sessions, but this was his first time seeing him up and close. There was light in his eyes. What an idiot. He wanted to be a hero just like Sephiroth, didn't he?

(  ❛  Let's just get this over with. In and out. Got it? I know you're sooo happy to be showing off that shiny new status. Show me what a 2nd class is all about, yo. ❜  )

Gemstone eyes scanned Zack's body up and done purposefully as he swung his electro mag-rod with practiced arrogance. Everything about Reno was loud. Loud mouth, loud hair, cleavage, and the strut of his walk. Two hours away from the civilization of Midgar, the redhead was already looking forward to returning to the boisterous city. He would be knocking back drinks by the end of the day or else. The electro mag-rod pressed docile against his left shoulder as he turned his head over the right to peer at the SOLDIER boy.

(  ❛  Fuuuck, it's way too hot out here. ❜  )

Whoever the fuck the man was, Megumi should have reported it to someone, but was a powerful man really at the top of anyone's list? Everyone was either pissed or grieving, and Megumi did what he did best. One of the things anyway. He kept quiet. As the rubble and blood of Shibuya was cleaned up, Megumi returned to the scene of decimation and chaos in search of answers. Why had the man asked for his name, and why had he stopped trying to kill him? It was almost like the name Fushiguro meant something to the stranger.. Megumi had much bigger fish to fry, but he couldn't stop thinking about those dead eyes and confusing grin. Something pulled at his heart. No. It was his mind. A weird stirring of deja vu that did not belong. He didn't know the man @fateofflames, and yet.... he was looking for him. Like a fool.

“ Is anyone here? It's Fushiguro Megumi. Fight me if you hear me. ”

Megumi Gojo Fushiguro had tuned out his father figure (as Satoru liked to call himself) either through the first half of his speech or the last. It was the very reason Megumi had insisted taking a horse or carriage back to the grounds by himself. He hoped the new ranch hand had two big ears and a brain worth a cent between those ears. The brain for Megumi's sake and the ears for Satoru's sake with his mouth that never shut. Ranch hands and really everyone in the business of owning animals weren't the friendliest company.

Old men with huge egos and cruel hearts and Megumi's family had been the worst of them. Someone would have to tolerate Satoru as much as Satoru really had to weed out likely the hundreds or thousands who were looking for honest work with good pay. And to work at one of the Gojo ranches was better than hitting it big at a vault. Too many good for nothings came and went, and Megumi was thankful his mentor was a picky man with the eyes for decent human beings. Regardless Satoru was not as picky as Megumi. He got along fine with every employee he had met, but he didn't make friends with any of them. In fact Megumi didn't have any friends at all. Not anymore.

Megumi was not a talkative boy. No one wanted to hear what he said anyway unless he was agreeing with the various patriarchs of his family. Zen'in boys were meant to give orders once they reached their teen years. Even then they still had to mind the pecking order. No one outside the Zen'in ranch wanted to listen to a rich and entitled boy. Megumi had learned early and harshly. There was no reason to talk not when the worms in the dirt talked. Not when the leaves in the wind talked. The frogs stopped chattering when they sensed the vibrations of approaching footsteps. It always disheartened Megumi that they perceived him as a threat but how could they know better?

Frogs jumped into the water with haste. Their slower counterparts were up for the grabbing. The cattle pond was filthy because it was a cattle pond, but the little boy didn't care. He muddied his boots wadding around the edges of the pond and once he spotted the familiar bounce of a toad, he moved quick as a racer to snatch up the little creature without harming it. Megumi smiled and held the little toad close like a prized possession. Like others would hold diamonds. He let the smile slip when the hasty footsteps of his counterpart grew closer. To a strange the little boy looked just as serious as he always did. To another little boy who had spent weeks adventuring with him, he looked radiant.

Megumi stomped out of the smelly pond with care. When the pink-haired boy was close enough, Megumi very slowly uncurled his hand. The tiny toad the size of a coin almost got away. Megumi tightened his grip just slightly... always being careful. " It's a juvenile. When they're this small it's hard to tell what they are exactly. " It was the most he said in several days. Without asking he grabbed his friend's hand and made the careful transfer of the toad from one boy to the other. He trusted him. The pink-haired boy knew how to handle animals.

Some thirteen years later, Megumi would still look for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects across the ranch and wherever he traveled. Satoru amused his findings, but the man wasn't as excited to see them as much as that little boy had been. His thoughts were shaken with a slap to his shoulder. He hadn't realized Satoru had been talking the entire time but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue. He was probably just talking about the new hire. Megumi was too tired from two train rides and interacting with so many strangers to humor his mentor.

Thankfully the carriage ride wasn't too much longer, and Satoru left his ward to settle in back in the main house. Megumi didn't even think about unpacking. As soon as he dumped his luggage into his room, he made off with his clothes in the washroom and thankfully Satoru had the hindsight to have a bath prepared for him. Megumi had bathed during his travels, but it had been sparingly, and he felt like three weeks worth of dirt and mud from traveling were being washed away like a layer of skin. Megumi ended up needing two baths and took the second bath with cold water so he didn't want to wait for the water to boil.

He combed his unruly hair, dressed in freshly pressed clothes of lightweight cotton, and retired to the dinning hall. Satoru was waiting for Megumi in the parlor reading the newspaper and didn't lose any zest in his conversation, picking right up where they left off apparently. He had a salad, fruits, and eggs prepared for Megumi even though dinner was around the corner, and the young man ate it all up while Satoru talked about happenings around the ranch. Megumi was dressed for staying in, but he missed his animals dearly and felt guilty not saying hello to them.

It would also give him the chance to meet the new ranch hand which Satoru did not fail to stop talking about. His mentor, the queer looking man, couldn't stop beaming as he walked out with Megumi and watched his ward go into the stables. The young man had changed into a clean pair of boots, grabbed a hat, and grabbed a sack full of fresh carrots, apples, and cucumbers as treats for the majority of the animals at the main ranch. At the horse stables beside the main house which were used for Satoru's, Megumi's, and guests horses, he greeted every single horse, gave them a pet, a treat, and then paid extra attention to his own horse.

“ Did you miss me Kuro? ”

The horse neighed with glee and pressed his face to its master's. Megumi kissed the horse on the nose then began inspecting his coat and hooves like an overbearing parent. He looked clean, well-brushed, and happy as he should have been. Megumi spoiled him with two carrots before he got him ready for riding with his personal and engraved leather saddle. Treats were placed inside the satchels at each side of Kuro, and Megumi took the reins to lead his horse out of the stable. He was tired but eagerly mounted Kuro, and the two of them were off at a gentle gait. Satoru was still standing outside the main house and didn't go back inside until Megumi and Kuro were out of sight.

Megumi knew he would come to regret saying hi to everyone, but he did miss all his animals so much. At the pace he went, getting on and off his saddle to pet and deliver treats to every cow, donkey, and horse took a great chunk of time. He didn't pet the chickens and the turkeys, but he did go to the barrels of corn to give them some treats. All the animals perked up and chattered upon seeing their favorite human. The oldest of the cows received received through brushings though the ladies definitely wanted more.

“ I'll spend more time with you all tomorrow. I promise. ”

The sky was beginning to turn dark orange. Then Megumi was back on Kuro and off to see the mischievous goats to deliver the last of the treats. They nearly ripped him apart at the seams. Excited to see him, ever mischievous, and wanting treats. Megumi had not wanted to get his clean clothes to get too soiled, but that went out the barn window. He entered the pen of madness and made sure every goat had a mouth full of carrot. The older of the goats were too gentle to be with the crazy youg'ins, and that was the last pen Megumi entered. There he had no qualms getting down to his knees to shower attention to all the seniors. They were calm but happy and eager and stood around Megumi in a circle as he used both of his hands to scratch and brush them. He forgot all about meeting the new farm hand and let himself smile and relax.

Megumi put all his hopes on a boy that would die eventually and in a tragic way, and he had dulled himself into thinking he gave Yuji the best outcome that fateful night. The optimistic puppy of a boy had been given a fighting chance yet was driven into a world of death. Megumi didn't know what he regretted more -- persuading Satoru Gojo to let him live or letting Yuji enter his heart so easily. Like with the death of his mother, the abandonment by his father, his sister's comatose state, and now Yuji's death... he smothered the emotions and built another layer of walls around himself.

It hurt. It really fucking hurt. He should've been relieved and overjoyed seeing Yuji pop out of that box with the dumbest smile on his face; Megumi felt betrayed by two people. He couldn't reflect on it during the Goodwill event, but he reflects on it now. The last of Shoko Ieiri's bandages were peeled off even before he was fully healed, and he stared at his sorry appearance in the mirror. Tokyo had won, they had played their little baseball game, but Megumi's heart wasn't in it. It had been with Yuji, and it had died when Yuji died. It was hard picking up the pieces after that. He couldn't face their sensei and he couldn't face the boy of his affections.

He slapped cold water onto his face and discarded his bandages then exited the bathroom. He heard Yuji's voice before he saw the familiar head of pink, and quickly diverted his path. Worst case scenario he could use his shadows to sneak back inside his room. The two boys had not seen each other since the event ended, and Megumi was not ready to open up a heart he had damned. He stepped outside the dormitory hall where he summoned his black Divine Dog, and both of them moved to the treeline. His shikigami were his only REAL friends. They did not lie; they were a part of his soul. He kneeled down beside the trees, beneath their shadows, and rubbed his wolf-like shikigami. The Divine Dog knew how Megumi was feeling and nuzzled its face into the boy's nape for comfort.

He couldn't go back to his naive and burden free days; this was the closest thing he got. One night to let his hair down, literally, and let loose... probably literally too. Peach and plum flavored drinks were buzzing in his system. The sugar content would have killed him if he wasn't a superior being but the alcohol was definitely messing with his brain. It felt good though. He was even being generous with the filthy monkeys because he had the money for it. Drinks were flowing free and Suguru licked his lips to taste what was left of the fruity wines. Someone took that as an invitation. Several people did.

Women were eager to rub up on Suguru and only after twenty shrug off did they finally get the hint. Who could blame them? Suguru Geto was better than any idol on a billboard being 180cm tall, with hair which silk envied reaching to his lower back, and a killer body accentuated with great fashion choices. From head to toe Suguru was decked out in premium ware. High top leather boots, tight black pants with chains hanging around his waist, a black button-up with the top buttons undone and a leather harness layered ontop, and silver rings, necklace, and his usual plugs switched out with those patterned with a silver dragon.

It was far too hot though what with the alcohol and the hands occasionally roaming across his body. He didn't give into anyone's touch until he felt large strong hands wander down his back to reach his waist. A man. So Suguru figured. It was the modern age but Japan was still judgemental and antiquated. In the dark though... who could tell. The person behind him (Suguru ignored it was a filthy human) smelled good at least. And felt good when the sorcerer arched his body to contour to that behind him.

The press of an erection at his ass was unmistakable. His hair was moved aside for the human to murmur something into his ear. Suguru didn't hear. Didn't want to hear. He just moved with the music and pressed the curvature of his well-sculpted ass against that bulge. So wrapped up in his own needs, he never expected to find another sorcerer in the club.. especially not a jujutsu sorcerer. The jujutsu sorcerer with six eyes eyes noticing everything.