By Kristen Gupton-Williams

Everyone filed out of the room speechless. Jaras quietly made his way back to his own room and locked the door. After a few moments of hesitation, he went over to the corner where the sword Tifa had given him was sitting. Carefully he picked it up and pulled it from the sheath. Logic told him that such a large blade should be nearly impossible to wield but oddly enough it felt practically natural in his hands. Somehow he knew that if put to the test, he would be able to use it quite well as the training he had received with it so long before was still ingrained into his subconscious.

He let the blade glint in the dim light of the room, becoming mesmerized by it. It was both incredibly alien and yet frighteningly familiar. When a knock came at the door he was startled and nearly dropped the weapon. Hastily he recovered the blade and placed it back where it had been.

Jaras made his way to the door and opened it, finding Angel and Reno on the other side. "Oh, hi there."

Angel smiled warmly. "We thought maybe we should check on you."

"Ain’t no we involved." Reno said with great sarcasm. "I would just as soon have gone to do something else."

After flashing her husband a biting glare, Angel continued. "You just didn’t look to well earlier."

"Oh." Jaras motioned for them to enter and then shut the door. He went and sat on the edge of the bed as they took up the couch. "I’m a little tired from recent events, that’s all."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I was talking with my father after the meeting and he told me that you have regained your memory. Is that true?"

He couldn’t lie to her and hung his head, allowing his face to be obscured by his long silver hair. "Yes it is."

"So like you know everything then?" Reno asked, somewhat interested in the subject at hand.

Jaras looked up and locked gazes with his brother-in-law. "Yes."

Sensing that Jaras really was suffering from this, Angel rose from her seat on the couch and went to the bed and sat next to him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"It’s all a little to take, but I’m fine." He sighed to himself, torn between wanting to be alone and wishing to be comforted by his sister.

"Do you really think that you are gonna be able to pull of going with us to Midgar in two days?" Reno leaned forward where he sat, his Turk blood wishing to remove any weak spots from the mission team.

Jaras again met Reno’s gaze, growing increasingly annoyed with his tone and attitude. "I will not cause you any trouble on the trip if that is your worry. I assure you that I can handle myself."

"Sure, you could handle yourself in a fight situation back as Sephiroth, but what about now?" Reno narrowed his eyes, intentionally trying to get the better of Jaras.

Jaras, already on edge from his exhaustion could take no more. He quickly got up from the bed, whirled around and grabbed his sword. In one quick and fluid motion, he had it unsheathed and resting uncomfortably close to Reno’s neck. "I can handle myself."

Reno’s eyes grew wide as he was caught off guard by Jaras’ speed and agility with the sword. Never in a million years would he have expected to be turned on by Jaras. Until now, he figured he wasn’t capable of such a threat. "So, you’re actually capable of lashing out, just like you old man, huh?"

Jaras frowned and let the blade move away from Reno. There was a tremendous fear within him at the ease of how he had just reacted out of anger but he covered it for the moment wishing to make an impression on Reno. "Don’t screw with me, Reno. I’m in a really rough point in my life, and the last thing that I need is your harassment. Just keep that in mind."

Reno raised his hands in defense and offered an awkward smile. "Hey, you know I don’t mean anything by it, just calm down."

Angel, frightened by what she had just witnessed rose from the bed and made her way to Reno’s side. "I think that maybe we should go. Jaras needs some time to himself right now."

Reno nodded, signaling his agreement. "Yeah, all right."

As Reno headed out the door, Angel turned to face her brother one last time. "Jaras, please come and see me if you need to talk, okay?"

Ashamed at his actions, he wasn’t able to look her in the eye but replied nonetheless. "I will. Thanks."