Chaos Cursed

That day at the park was the greatest day she’d had in years. In fact, it was probably second only to the day after her brother had taken she and Seraphina home. As she lay curled in bed that night, her eyes closed and a smile on her lips, she simply remembered.

Rude had stood guard - half appearing to be protecting her, the other half appearing as though he were keeping her from escaping. Sanura had merely ignored that second half, instead running to the swings - and Reno had followed. Instead of swinging beside her, as most others of her acquaintance would have done, he had stood behind her, pushing her in the swing until she was laughing from the thrill of it all. Rather than slow the swing in order to stop, Sanura had leapt off it, landing gracefully a good ten feet from the swing set.

After another half hour or so of childish antics in the playground, Reno had suggested they go see a movie - something to help take her mind off things. To Rude’s shock, the movie suggested was not an adult movie. In fact, it was a movie made for children! Sanura had adored it. Just thinking about the way Reno had taken her hand halfway through the movie as they both giggled - Rude looking as stoic as ever all the while - brought a rush of feelings that made the memories of the day stop dead.

“…No…” The girl whispered, eyes widening even as she sat up as though she’d had a nightmare that she had only just woken up from. “…I can’t…I can’t care about him like that! I won’t!”

Realizing there was very little she could do about the matter, Sanura lay down again, pondering the issue. It was terrible of her to fall for someone so shortly after losing the man she loved - it’d be like… Well, like Seraphina abandoning Genesis in favor of Rufus ShinRa. Keeping the arguments in favor of that happening silent in the back of her mind, Sanura merely nodded. She was just as strong as her sister - she could control her emotions, too.

“I’ll just have to stay away from all of them for a while…” A soft sigh of relief, closing her eyes. It would be hard, since Elena had been ordered to bring her with her to work every day, but Sanura was certain she could do it. After all, if Seraphina could disappear off the planet in a heartbeat - the thought made her wince with pain - it would be no trouble for her to stay away from a group of Turks in a building the size of ShinRa’s main headquarters.

The next morning, she made good on her personal vow, and disappeared the moment she was in the upper reaches of the building - it would keep up appearances, since she could not leave that area without one of the Turks.

“Excuse me…are you lost?” The voice from behind her startled her a bit, leaving her to turn to find a man standing behind her, a brow arched. “I beg your pardon - I had no intention to frighten you, Miss…”

“Sanura. My name is Sanura. And I…yes, I am a little lost.” A laugh, rubbing the back of her head. “I’ve been avoiding the Turks, and I guess I avoided them so well I have no idea where I am.”

“My name is Reeve Tuesti.” She took the hand extended, the man’s smile quite kind. “I was just heading for the cafeteria. Would you like to join me?”

“I am hungry…but I’d really rather not chance running into one of the Turks…” A small smile, shaking her head a bit. “Thanks anyway.”

“The Turks never come to the cafeteria to eat - you won’t have to deal with them. You really should eat - you look pale.”

“…you aren’t going to just go away and leave me to misery, are you?”

“No.”

Over the next few days, Sanura developed an established routine, one which varied only in the ways she carried it out. She would avoid the Turks - mostly Reno, and therefore Rude - like the plague the entire time she was in the building, only stopping in her constant moving through the upper floors and offices for lunch with Reeve.

The two developed a comfortable companionship - she never asked him just what he did for ShinRa, or where he was the rest of the day, and he never asked her why she so desperately avoided any contact with the Turks, despite knowing she went home with one at the end of the day. Though he once asked why she always appeared as though she were on the verge of tears, when she closed up completely, he dropped the subject and moved on.

They were not friends, of course. Sanura desperately wanted to consider Reeve a friend, but every time he extended the hand of friendship, a wall snapped up between them and forced him away. Strangely, he seemed to understand completely. Only when she began to show signs of lack of sleep did he truly begin to press her - but that wall still kept him at bay. He noticed, though, that each time he asked her why she looked so tired, she was growing even more slow to refuse outright to tell him. So every day, he asked what was wrong - and every day, he knew, he grew ever closer to the truth - and the moment when the wall would fail. Sanura knew this as well - and she was fighting to let it happen. She wanted a friend, someone she could confide in, someone who would listen to her and understand. And in her heart, she knew Reeve was that person.

With both sides fighting to get past it, the wall had to fail - and fail it did.