Kadaj was at a loss. The redhaired man was ignoring him, just sitting on the ground. He raised his eyebrows past his hairline, confused, unable to even begin to fathom why.

'Doesn't he know to never show weakness to a potential enemy?' He asked privately, frowning, and crossed his arms. It really was a valid question. After all, he'd been trained with similar advice since he was an infant, and Reno, being a Turk, or at least an ex-Turk, should have learned similarly. ShinRa created killers; that was a fact of life, as far as he knew. Even Cloud, who didn't want to be an experiment in Hojo's twisted lab--though, to be fair, he didn't exactly want it either--was a killer, though he used it for a better cause than both Kadaj and Reno. 'Some Turk you ended up being!'

The insult was internal, though he didn't know why he didn't say it aloud. It wasn't like he had any qualms about hurting Reno's feelings. But he stared at the redhead now. He really did look down, and maybe Kadaj didn't want to kick a dog when it was down. Suddenly an idea occurred to him, and he began to laugh.

"You're--you're depressed, aren't you?" He couldn't stop laughing at that, though he didn't know why. It was just odd. "Aw, that's so cute. You want me to kiss it better, or can the big, bad ex-Turk manage?" He paused in the onslaught, thinking. "You know, I know you're old and all, but I'm sure you'll find your friends at least before you kick the bucket, so why all the drama?"

Kadaj grinned, leering at Reno. It seemed that the redheaded ex-Turk was a bit sensitive about his age, or maybe just being insulted about it. Good. Now it gave Kadaj something to poke fun at, and maybe Reno would burst if he kept doing it.

"I'll admit," He started with a laugh, shaking long silver hair out of his face. "You're not as old as some people, but you're still pretty old. I bet you'll start finding some white hairs among all the red in a while. And trust me, you couldn't pull off the dashing old guy look. That's reserved for...old guys like Sephiroth, I guess, though I don't find him all that attractive myself."

He wrinkled his nose slightly at the mention of his oldest "brother". He didn't like the man, true, but he could see the appeal in him. Sephiroth wasn't ugly, old or not, and he supposed Reno wasn't either--not that he'd say anything. What fun would that be?

"And for the record, I'm not stupid. Depressed is when someone feels really sad or something. Then they kill themselves. You going to kill yourself, eh? If you will, you want some help with that?" He gave Reno a big grin, raising both brows for emphasis. "Don't worry, I don't kiss on the first date, especially not with a pedo like you."

He couldn't help throwing in that last taunt at Reno's age, amd his smile widened so much that it almost hurt his face, but it was slightly mocking. Did Reno think Kadaj would kiss him? He wouldn't--not even on threat of death--so the older man didn't have to worry. He was loose with his sword, not his lips.

Kadaj stared at Reno as if he'd grown another head. He didn' appreciate the pipsqueak comment. He wasn't small or girly; he just hadn't grown to his full height yet, that was all.

"Sephiroth was like, thirty or something, you know. I mean, that's probably young compared to Hojo or something, but that's double my age," He seemed to reconsider that as soon as he said it, not wanting Reno to think he was a child or something. "Not that I'm really young, but that just makes it worse, no?"

He paused, allowing a huge smile to creep up his face, giving the redhead ample time to know that he was about to tease him. "I guess someone your age wouldn't be considered that old to you. I get it. This old lady I met once kept saying her ninety year old friend was still young. It's like that, huh?"

In all honesty, he knew Reno wasn't that old. He looked to be maybe a few years older than Cloud, and Cloud wasn't old. But what would be the fun in telling Reno that? And it seemed the redhead understood the whole insulting deal because he snapped right back, making Kadaj pout.

"I am not all hair. Yazoo's hair is waaay longer than mine," He gave a dainty sniff, giving Reno a sideways glance. "Besides, don't you think that's a bit hypocritical coming from a guy that wears the same shabby suit everyday? I mean, at least your pal Tseng could pull off the handsome businessman look," He raised an elegant brow at Reno. "You look like some kind of bum that someone took pity on one day, and offered an old suit to. Or a poser. Whichever you'd prefer."

He scowled when Reno mentioned the info he wanted.

"Pssh, yeah right. You know about as much as I do, maybe a bit more, or else you'd already be playing Turk with your ShinRa buds. Or following around your little president." The thought of the president made him scowl. He hadn't liked being played by Rufus, as much as he had been. But he appreciated the man. At least he was moderately intelligent. It would have been embarrassing for him if either Cloud, Rufus, or any of the other superfriends (as he privately and sarcastically liked to call them) had defeated them without an ounce of intelligence.

Kadaj internally laughed, but kept his face a cool mask of innocence, as if he didn't know that his words were infuriating Reno to his last nerve. He snorted at the age comment.

"What are you talking about? The youngest gets all the attention. When not trying to destroy the world, I had both of my brothers wrapped around my finger," He wiggled a glove-clad pinky for emphasis, a smirk on face. It was true; near everyone had given him all the right kind of attention, and he loved attention. Disregarding the fact that it made him sound like an abandoned teenager, of course, no matter how much truth the statement held. He glared at Reno's hair comment, running his hand through his hair. It went through smoothly, as if running through water. "There's nothing wrong with my hair. See, no split ends, and it's clean, too."

Then he offered Reno an amused smirk. "Don't worry, though. I'll be sure to inform Yazoo that you find his hair so very stylish. He'll love that compliment."

"I suppose you're right. I don't know. But maybe I'm fine not knowing? I'm the horrible, evil villain, aren't I? Well, by that status, what makes you think I can't just shrug off living without my brothers?" He raised his brow dramatically, looking unfazed, and buffed his already clean nails against the leather of his jacket. "I can be very convincing when I want to be---especially around people I don't know. So I'll have followers again--if I want--as soon as I want. Maybe not in this world, it is pretty empty, but in others."

He gave Reno a searching look.

"You, on the other hand, aren't a leader. You're a follower. Which means chances are very slim, unless you were fired or are on a vacation, that you'd be off galavanting off on your own, without your partners in crime, or your precious president telling you when  to jump and how high to do it." He was becoming very good at pushing people's buttons. Oh well, at least he had Reno to entertain him. This world traveling thing was beginning to sound kind of fun.

-- Edited by Kadaj at 23:35, 2009-01-28

Kadaj glared at Reno. He was twisting his words now. He'd never said he saw himself as the villain, just that other people did.

"I never said I saw myself as the villain, though I do admit destroying the world probably wasdn't a good idea. What I mean is, I'm pretty capable of being independent. Isn't that what we--meaning me, since I have no idea how old you are--teenagers do? Assert our independence?" He did miss his brothers, but, thinking back on it, maybe this was a new opportunity for him. More and more the idea was sounding better. "Maybe I don't mind being alone for a while? You've got this kicked-puppy thing going. It's kind of obvious to see that you're unhappy with your situaution," He paused, deciding to say something before Reno had a chance to. "Even if I am emotionally and socially incapictated. Don't laugh, because I just know you were about to mention something about my terrible social skills."

He blinked at Reno with wide eyes.

"No offense, but I can't really see you leading anything. My first impression of you--you know, when I kicked your ass at Healin, was that you were a dumb ass. Sorry, I now see that you aren't quite the sheep I thought you were, but...well, you're still more of a clown than a threat, at least to me." And it wasn't to brag, either. Sure, he had no doubt Reno could be a danger to him, but still, the man's mannerisms made him laugh or feel insulted rather than threatened. He twirled a lock of silver around a leather glove clad finger subconsciously. "I know looks aren't everything. Heck, I don't wash my hair nearly as much as Sephiroth does, with his vast multitude of hair products, or even as much as Yazoo. But, you know, it's easier to catch flies with honey, not water, so I get a little insulted when you call my hair a curtain, of all things.

He glared again, then smirked. "And I'm not a brat, either, but I am slightly used to getting my way, if that's what you mean."

(It's fine, no worries. :D There's something wrong on the site, at least for me. It keeps freezing. Hmm, curious.)

-- Edited by Kadaj at 00:26, 2009-02-03

Kadaj blinked at the redhead, before the confusion on his face was replaced with a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not really sure... I guess, like, thirty, maybe?  I mean, unless your talking about the age where people are always complaining of back aches and stuff. Then, I'd say it's like...fifty?" He didn't really have much to go on, but at least he knew that fifty halved a hundred, so it was probably the age that a person started to wear down. His not so extensive contacts ranged from Cloud and his heroic crew--most of whom he did not even know by name--and scientists in the lab he'd grown up in. That, and the scattered few uninvolved, 'normal' people who'd accidently made his acquaintance. He gave the subject a bit more thought, before replying, "Though I guess I can't really compare mako enhanced people with normal ones. I mean, the normal ones die rather easily."

He wondered how old Reno was, and made a wavering guess. "I'm guessing you're like...twenty seven years old? I know you're older than brother, but younger than Sephiroth."

He then snorted. "You've no idea how easy it was to get people to call me innocent, before that whole mess started. It's not hard, because people tend to underestimate me because of my age."

Kadaj grimmaced, almost looking hurt, and gave Reno a pout.

"Do you have to bring that up? Besides, I'm a person, too, you know. I'm not a fraction of him, as you so kindly put it. None of my brothers are. And you'd probably do all that too if, from the moment you actually began to understand the world around you, their was a voice in your head telling you what to do. I trusted that voice, and it hurt when she dumped me like that," he suddenly realized that he was sharing a bit too much of his personal feelings with Reno of all people, and stopped, giving a half-hearted what-can you do shrug. "After my 'death' I met Aerith, and I like her a whole lot better than Jenova, for your information. So that's all okay with me. Just so you know, I'm not Jenova obsessed anymore. That was probably the worst mistake of my life--and cost me my life. Which is ironic, when I think about, since I only realized that it was the worst mistake in my life when I died."

He gave Reno a smirk. "You've got to admit--you like me better than Sephiroth, right? He wouldn't even stop to talk to you, I'd bet."

The smirk turned down into a glare. "Hey, I'm not a brat! It's just that--" he smiled "My brothers, who raised me, really gave in to my demands, and I did grow up in a lab with only them as company. I wasn't used to anyone saying 'no' to me before I left," his pretty face scrunched up in a grimace of disgust. "Jeez, I can't believe I cried over that ugly old thing. Not that I cried a lot, or anything, and I'll deny ever having done so if you mention that I did. But you've got to know--the Jenova insults aren't exactly going to hurt my feelings, because I'm not an avid follower of her anymore."

Kadaj gave Reno an almost frightened look, which quickly evaporated into anger, then apathy. In a cool voice he said, "I didn't say I was going to abandon them, baka, just that it wouldn't hurt them or me if we were apart. If I thought they were hurt, I wouldn't be here chatting up a moron like you. And I'm not abandoning them--I am looking for them--but because I'm perfectly sure they're fine, I'm willing to do so liesurely."

(Yay! *Dances with you* Let's do the Waltz! xD By the way, sorry for the long as heck post. I think I might have written a novel. ^^;)

Kadaj raised an amused brow. "Touchy, touchy, aren't we?" He asked, grinning. It was becoming all too apparent that he'd guessed right.

"Well, yeah," he answered with a shrug, in reference to the innocence comment. "I mean, I tried to kill you--which was your fault in the first place for trying to challenge me--and that musn't have left a good first impression. But you have to admit, when you first met me, did you really think I took out your boss and that blonde chick? Did you think I could take you out?"

He blushed slightly when Reno named random emotions, which were, he knew, the rougher ones, ducking his head a bit so that his face was shadowed. "I'll admit," he grumbled. "Those do consist of my most frequent emotions, but they aren't all I feel."

Now he looked unsure. "Yeah, I guess she is a bit forgiving," she meaning Aerith. "But I want her to like me, and I'll have you know that I haven't done anything bad recently. I even helped her weed her garden, though I'll freely admit that that was done unwillingly." He shivered suddenly, remembering the evilish gleam his surrogate mother's eyes sometimes took on. "Apparently, I'd complained of boredom a bit too much, and she grew irritated with me. She can be so strict when she wants to be, like you wouldn't believe."

Kadaj frowned in a confused manner. "Thank you? For what? Calling Jenova ugly? That was a bit of a biased comment, though. She was just a head when I saw her. Maybe she was prettier when she was whole--though I can't imagine her being as pretty as Aerith," he blushed again after the last admittance.

He offered Reno his most passive, unfazed look, unconsciously brushing off an imaginary particle of dust from the sleeve of his jacket. "You probably don't know this--and I wouldn't expect you to, either way, but my brothers and I are connected. I'd know beyond the inkling of a doubt if they were hurt or dead. They'd know for me, too, which is why they left after you injured them to find brother and I, because they thought I was dead. They didn't mind dying after that, either, because we like being together, if at all possible. The reason I was so rushed earlier was because I was getting bored without them around, but I have you to entertain me for the moment," he shrugged. "So I don't mind 'liesurely' looking for them. They won't mind either, I assure you. After all, I know my brothers better than you do."

((Sooorry, I've been so distracted and my muse was dying, but I'll never take so long to reply again. Promise))

Kadaj raised an indignant brow and asked, "How am I supposed to prove my feelings to you? It's not exactly so much a matter of just do it," he paused, thinking, then smiled. "Then again, just do it is exactly the type of person you seem to be, so maybe I'm appealing to the wrong person here."

Kadaj laughed at Reno's expression. "You sound like you have some experience with 'Those damned flowers'," he said, grinning. "But I bet you never had to help taking care of the infinite amounts of them. I mean, if you think the church was bad, imagine the Life Stream! It was filled to the brim with flowers."

 

"You look annoyed," he laughed, pointing out the obvious. "If it comforts you, you're not that entertaining, but a person loses standards when they've been wandering around alone for a while. I would have taken anyone from Midgar," he paused, remembering Destiny Islands. "Though I did have some fun on Destiny Islands playing some type of ball game. Mako increased senses are really a bonus."

 

Maybe, when he found his brothers, he'd take them to DI and just stay there. Of course, he'd leave once in a while when excitement ran out, but it was enjoyable not having to think once in a while.

 

"I'm not lazy!" he said, pouting. Then, he tried to think of how he could prove it. "Hmm...well, I like the feeling of victory. That's happy, right? I get kind of scared when Yazoo gets mad, because it doesn't happen all that often. I'm disgusted when Loz gets really hungry--and I mean beyond human capacity--and stuffs his mouth with food. I love my brothers, even with all those flaws, and I'm kind of--only a little bit--afraid of Sephiroth. I get embarrassed when Aerith says I'm cute, I was surprised when bro--when Cloud held me before I died..." he paused, allowing a small smirk to slide over his face. "I laugh whenever I see your face... I could go on and on, but do you really want me to?"

It was a minor victory, and somewhat vindictive, thinking he could bore Reno to death by chattering. But, if he succeeded, and he had a feeling it would be at least minorly irritating, it would be worth it.

He raised a brow and said, "I doubt I'd go that far. But shouldn't you be happy that I haven't been killing anyone for entertainment? I could have done that, but I didn't. Besides, winning, be it in an actual fight or in a meaningless sport, still gives me the same thrill. I don't have to kill anymore to get it, so I'm fine," he shrugged.

((This is worse, trust me. I've been so lazy, and when I finally do reply, it's so bad! Gah!))