[Come on, Cloud. Give yourself a little bit of credit here. You have a friend, a good one, who tried to save you and do his best for you. That counts for something.

But the laughs help, and Riku smiles slightly. Yeah, he can see it. If this were their home Planet he probably would have worked with the Turks to tail him on something like this. Here though, he wouldn't be so lucky but you never know.

Despite the apology, Riku waves it off with a hand. It might not be a good situation for most people to listen to, but he's at least somewhat open about his origins. It's not a topic that bothers him as much as it might bother others.]

When did I start hanging around him? [He guesses it's a question like that, and shrugs, leaning back in his chair and keepig his eyes on the table.] Couple of years ago I guess. Zack raided some of Hojo's other labs. Private, off-site locations for top secret projects. I was in mako stasis when he hit the location I was at and I guess... didn't think about getting rid of me.

[There are definite moments where he wonders why and what was going through the other man's mind. But most of the time, he is pretty grateful for it.]