( continued. )

[ She can't help but smile at the way he reacts so differently to the mention of both Cloud and Tifa—at his reaction to the Turks and Shinra, though, she finds herself wincing even as she shakes her head to assure him that no, they're not bothering her.

(Would he forgive her, she wonders vaguely, if he knew how far she's had to go?)

...And then she shakes her head again, holding up her hands with a soft laugh. ]

No! No, they've got nothing to do with it. There are people here from all sorts of different places. Different worlds. Worlds without Shinra, without... without anything we know. There's no way that Rufus Shinra holds that sort of power. Besides, I don't think this sort of thing is really what they're trying to do...

[ She laughs, and shakes her head. There's no reason at all for Shinra to trap them in a world demanding sex, is there? ...Then again, is there a reason for anyone to do that? Ever? ]

To be honest... at first, I wondered if it was something we did, but... it still seems too big for any of that, you know?