"Back when I was workin' for ShinRa, yeah. He would'a said, 'shoot that girl, Reno,' and I would'a saluted an' clicked my heels and gone 'yes, sir,' and either I would'a had to do it, or they would'a killed me, instead." A long pause, there. "I would'a been dead real quick. I could never do it. This place made me fuckin' weak, man. I won't last ten minutes on Gaia, but I gotta go back anyhow."

Reno kind of hated his mouth, right now.

"You, you're good at a whole shitload of things, man. You got your guns, yeah, but you're more than that. You're educated, Romeo. I'm jealous of your brains, here. You an' your poetry and your flowery rich-kid talk and the fact that you keep tryin' to get what you want. And I can't shut up right now and I'd like it if maybe you'd punch me in the face or somethin', but that probably won't happen so I'm gonna just tell you I think you can make it, and you just gotta prove to Doji that you won't get mixed up in the dirty shit that's got her terrified, zoto."

Reno winced. And seriously considered stapling his mouth shut.