Taking Care of Reno: Nibelheim
Chapter 2: Off to Healin
The path was narrow, and the edges were crumbling. Weston yelped as he lost his footing and went sliding downwards, only to be forcibly dragged back onto more solid ground.
“Careful!” Ai hissed. She didn’t pause to admonish him any further, however. As soon as her companion was safe, she took off again. Weston tried to keep up, but already his lungs were burning from the exertion of having literally run down a mountain, without stopping, for nearly ten minutes straight.
“Ai… Wait up!” he panted. He dared a look behind him, but saw nothing following them. Ai didn’t slow at all. “Ai! For Titan’s sake…”
He stumbled again, but this time managed to not go sliding down the incline. He risked another momentary glance back over his shoulder, and gradually came to a staggering halt on the mountain path. There was nothing there. Nothing chasing them down. Nothing preparing to turn them into a meal. Weston’s eyes narrowed in realization.
Ai had just punked him.
It was all joke. Another Titan-be-damned joke. He muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath. He got it… he was still the new guy on the team. But for Shiva’s sake, he’d been here going on four months now, and this was far from the first time. When exactly did the hazing stop?
Ai, meanwhile, had already trotted off back towards town, leaving him behind… probably laughing her ass off at him again. He had half a mind to repay the favor and just ‘disappear’ for a little while. Maybe stop in at the pub in town for an hour or so. Just long enough to make her worry. But ultimately, he shook his head. He was above such childish games, and he was not going to stoop to that level.
She’d probably had the whole thing planned out from the moment they left the village… though he wasn’t sure how she’d managed to make that loud clanging sound in the other chamber back at the reactor. Maybe it really had been some piece of machinery failing and she’d just used it to her advantage.
Weston snorted softly in irritation. What would have even be chasing them, in the first place? Yes… the incubation tanks held experimental specimens. And yes, according to the files he’d snuck a peek at awhile back, some of them looked like they might be dangerous if you were to meet them in a dark alley late at night. But it’s not as if one of them were going to break out of its tank and come after whoever was unfortunate enough to be nearby. Hell, most of them were little more than vegetables at this point, anyway… and the ones that did still have brain function were all dormant. The mako had seen to that.
“Okay, Ai… very funny. You got me,” he called out, his voice echoing off the the sides of the mountain. He sat down on a convenient boulder that had tumbled down from a higher ledge and wedged itself into the space between the cliffside and a long-dead tree stump. He wasn’t moving another step until she came out and admitted to the joke. He waited a full minute for a response, arms folded over his chest. Finally, he rolled his eyes.
Fine. If that’s how she was going to be, he wasn’t about to sit out here in the sticks while she laughed at him from behind some scrub brush down the trail. Weston got to his feet and stomped off, back in the direction of the village.
“I’m not falling for it, Ai…” he called out as he walked and took note of a faint rustling in the brush on the ledge above him. She must have double-backed. He knew there were several trails out here. She was probably up on one of the higher ones. How someone so serious about her profession could be so immature at times, he’d never know.
The trail split a short distance in front of him, one fork leading downwards toward the valley, the other continuing on, back to town. He was tempted to take the valley trail. One of the research assistants back at the lab had said there was a little lake near here. He could relax for a bit, and ignore Ai’s stupid little joke, before getting back to work. But as he approached the point where the trail separated, he sighed. As much as he did sort of want to turn the tables on Ai, and make her wait on him for once… he had things he needed to get done today, and he wasn’t about to give Dr. Monroe cause to question his work ethic.
He took the left fork, rounding a large outcropping of rock that had been blocking his view of the path ahead… and froze.
“… A-Ai?” he stammered, though his voice came out in barely a whisper. She was face-down on the ground, lying so that her upper body was hidden by the scraggly bushes that grew out of the cracks in the rocks. “Ai?” he tried again, louder this time, telling himself that the red splotches on the ground beside her were not blood. He approached slowly, feeling a chill run down his spine. Weston knelt down beside her, and reached out to roll her onto her back. He gripped her shoulder and pulled her from the foliage.
Well… most of her.
Weston screamed and scrambled backwards, landing on his backside, and, panicking, half dragged himself across the ground on his butt until he finally managed to get his feet underneath him again.
“She doesn’t have head… She doesn’t have a head!” he repeated to himself as he ran, wide-eyed, in terror, back towards Nibelheim. The rustling sound on the ledge above him started again. Following him.
Reno winced as he tentatively rolled his left shoulder. That hit he’d taken demonstrating a full-body throw to the rookies earlier had fucking hurt. He didn’t think he’d done any serious damage, but he was definitely going to be sore in the morning. Hell, he was already sore now. Next time, he was going to make sure he was the one doing the throwing… not the one getting tossed across the practice mats by Sykes.
And why did it always have to be his fucking left shoulder? He never seemed to do much damage at all to the other one. It always seemed to be his dominant arm he ended up injuring.
He sighed, still slightly irritated, as he tucked a couple more shirts into his suitcase. As instructed, he’d left work early and gone home to pack for a week. A week of what, exactly, he wasn’t quite sure. He’d tried looking up information on Healin Lodge, but it had been fairly sparse. All he’d really been able to glean from the records was that it was a Company-owned retreat of some sort and that it was well off the beaten trail, being located in the foothills of the mountains to the south of Midgar. He assumed it was similar to the Shinra Villa in Costa del Sol… a vacation home for the Shinra family, that occasionally pulled double duty as a getaway for other Company executives… and he vaguely wondered what sort of strings Tseng had had to pull to get him permission to just hang out there for a week.
Not that he was complaining. As much as he wanted to proclaim otherwise, Tseng was right. If he didn’t take some time off, he was gonna lose it. He’d been running too hard for too long, and worrying himself over… well, literally just about everything. Hell, he hadn’t even been able to enjoy Liam’s recent promotion to full Turk. He and Tseng had both had to show up late to the party because a board meeting had run long. So, as annoyed as he was that his commander was essentially benching him for a week, Reno couldn’t help but be quietly grateful for it, as well.
The redhead glanced at his watch and, seeing that it was nearly six o’clock, hurriedly tossed the last of his clothes into his luggage. He started to close the lid, and as he did so, was met with reproachful gaze of his roommate. Reno snorted softly, and made his way to the head of the bed, picking up the little stuffed bunny that was leaning against the pillows.
“Tch… don’t give me that look, Mr. Foo Foo,” he snickered, “You’re comin’, too…”
He tucked the toy into the suitcase, as well, and zipped it shut, then dutifully carried out into the living room. He placed it next to the door, and turned to go sit down and wait. Almost as soon as he did so, however, there was a sharp knock at his door. Reno looked at his watch again and laughed.
“Man, when you said six sharp, you weren’t kiddin’…” he joked, as he opened the door and found his mentor standing on the other side. “What… were you standin’ out there, countin’ down the seconds or somethin’?”
Tseng chuckled softly. “I have no need of such tactics. My punctuality is a practiced art,” he somewhat teasingly replied, “Are you ready to go?”
Reno shrugged. “Yeah, I guess… but, um… are you sure you wanna just send me off on a fuckin’ vacation in the middle of… ya know… everything we gotta do?”
“What I want is for you to retain your sanity,” Tseng replied, and then smirked slightly, “… such as it is.” He reached down and picked up the suitcase by the door. “Reno… I know how badly you don’t want to disappoint me. You haven’t… and you won’t. You need this.” He chuckled softly as he all but dragged the redhead out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. “In fact, were it not completely irresponsible to leave the team with no leadership at all, I’d be tempted to join you. It’s been a very long time since I had the opportunity to partake of Healin Lodge. I think you’ll enjoy your stay.”
Reno snorted softly. “What’s so great about it, anyway?” he asked, as he acquiesced and trailed his mentor down the hallway to the elevator. “I mean… I could sit around, alone, doin’ nothin’ for a week right here at home. No need to dump me in a cabin on the side of a mountain.”
Tseng genuinely laughed as the elevator door slid open and they stepped inside. He pressed the button for the ground floor.
“I would hardly call Healin Lodge a ‘cabin on the side of a mountain’. Don’t let the name fool you. Healin is a private executive retreat with all the amenities one might expect would be extended to the members of the board and upper management. It’s… essentially a private health spa.”
Reno blinked. “Wait, like… massages ‘n facials ‘n the cucumbers on your eyes thing? That kinda spa?” he asked, as they were delivered to their destination, to which his mentor snorted faintly in amusement.
“More or less,” he confirmed, stepping out and heading towards the parking lot. “Don’t worry. They’ll take excellent care of you.”
“Hmph. Here kind of late, aren’t you?” a voice asked, and Kai turned, grinning slightly.
“Look who’s talking…” she snickered. Rude gave a soft laugh. It was fair point. He was here just as late as she was.
“I had an interrogation to deal with. What’s your excuse?”
“Tseng stuck me with the rookies all afternoon,” the senior Turk shrugged, “I… might have lost track of time. Just a little. Probably wore them out.”
Rude cocked his head to one side, confused.
“Rookies? Thought Reno had that covered himself this week… He get pulled into something else, again?” he asked. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if he had been. His new duties seemed to drag the redhead in six different directions at once lately. The way he rushed around, Rude was somewhat amazed his friend still knew whether he was coming or going half the time. Kai shook her head as her grin widened.
“What… Mr. Company Gossip somehow hasn’t heard yet?” she replied, giggling quietly as she swung one leg over her motorcycle and reached for the helmet hanging from the handlebars. Rude eyed her, his interest now most definitely piqued.
“Heard what?” he queried.
“Oh… just that Tseng sent our favorite little redhead home early. And that he’ll be out tomorrow and all of next week, too.”
The bald Turk blinked and made a faint stuttering sound, as the several questions he had regarding that statement all fought to be asked first.
“What?” he finally managed with a note of concern. Kai laughed.
“Relax,” she said, dismissively, “Tseng just thinks Reno’s been working too hard lately. Which he has been. He’s sending him down to Healin.”
The younger Turk snorted faintly, joining in on the laughter. “That ought to be… interesting,” he mused. He’d never actually been – to say the place was exclusive, was understating the fact – but he’d snuck a peek or two at the classified Company records on the place. “Not sure Reno’s really the full-service, executive spa type.” He paused a moment, before adding with a grin, “Can’t really picture him holding still long enough for a facial…”
Kai cackled in amusement. “A facial, I think he could manage… but I don’t envy the poor kid who has to try and give him a mani-pedi.”
Rude gave another snort of laughter.
“It’ll be good for him,” Kai said, “He’s been so focused on becoming the perfect Second in Command for Tseng, I’m surprised he remembers to eat, sometimes.”
“That’s… probably the one thing Reno could never forget to do, even if he tried,” Rude chuckled, “But you’re right. It’ll be good for him.”
“Hey, Boss…” Reno prodded, after about ten minutes of traversing the plains just to the south of Midgar on a small private transport that had picked them up at the city gate.
“Hmm?” Tseng responded, pulling his gaze away from the passing scenery.
“So… what’d ya have to do to get me into this place, anyway?” the redhead asked, curious. His mentor chuckled.
“Nothing. I simply booked you a room. Access was already granted as part of your new rank,” he said, and Reno blinked in surprise.
“It was?”
Tseng chuckled shaking his head slightly. “Command isn’t all hard work for no reward, you know. It does have its perks. We are, technically, senior management, after all. That effectively nudges us onto the very lowest tier of executive… thus granting us access to certain executive privileges.” He sighed softly. “I was going to introduce you to those privileges over the next year or so as part of your training… so that I could accompany you on trips like this, they way Veld did with me. It’s unfortunate we have to miss out due to circumstances beyond our control…”
That was how Tseng frequently referred to Veld’s untimely death. “Circumstances beyond our control”. He’d never come right out and said it, but Reno got the feeling that, sometimes, at least, Tseng wondered if there had been something he could have done differently… Some small change he could have made that would have prevented that loss. If things were really as beyond their control as everyone insisted.
And maybe there was something… but they’d never really know, and even if they could know, it was too late now.
He wasn’t going to lie, he’d been worriedabout Tseng those first few weeks after Veld had died. His mentor had meant so much to him… and Tseng had already lost so many people he cared about in the few short years Reno had known him. Now, just shy of two months later, those fears had finally quieted… but every once in awhile, something prodded them awake again in the back of Reno’s mind.
“Heh… so what are you gonna do without me around?” he asked, in an effort to change the subject. Tseng laughed softly.
“Likely lose my mind trying to cover both my job and yours,” the Turk leader answered, jokingly. Reno frowned.
“Seriously… I don’t have to stay the whole week, ya know. I’m good with just a long weekend…” the redhead offered.
“Absolutely not,” Tseng firmly replied, “You will relax, recover, and return week after next. Not so much as an hour sooner. That is a direct order.”
Reno snickered softly. “Don’t think I’ve ever been officially ordered to take a vacation before…”
“Get used to it. Veld did it to me at least every other year. Given how you tend to push yourself, something tells me I’ll be continuing the tradition,” the senior Turk sighed, with somewhat feigned irritation. He shook his head, and smirked. “Your desire to please does occasionally override your sense of self-preservation.” He frowned slightly as a strand of hair drifted across his cheek, and tucked it back behind one ear. Reno chuckled.
“Speakin’ of desire to please… how long are you plannin’ on keepin’ your hair like that?” he teasingly asked.
For several weeks now, gone was the Turk leader’s usual utilitarian ponytail… replaced by a long cascade of jet black hair, somewhat nominally held out of the way by tying back only stands from either side of his head. It was somewhat reminiscent of the way Reno’s own hair had been styled after having been restored to its normal color following what he now would only vaguely refer to as the “orange incident”. The abrupt change was a direct result of a passing comment from a certain teenager.
“As soon as Felicia grows bored of the novelty of it,” he retorted. Veld’s family had, since the former Turk leader’s death, been under Tseng’s care. He visited regularly, saw to their needs, whatever they might be, and generally made sure they wanted for nothing. Felicia, in particular, was still having a rough time of it, and Tseng made an effort to take whatever time he could afford to be available to her.
“Heh… so, permanent, then, huh?” the redhead teased. Tseng merely rolled his eyes.
“I’m sure she will find something else to amuse her soon enough. For now, however… if it cheers her up, I’m willing to put up with the inconvenience.” He glanced away momentarily. “To be honest… I’m far more concerned that it’s beginning to grow on Viridia…”
Reno grinned. “Yep, this is totally gonna be a permanent look for ya, Boss,” he laughed, and his mentor sighed.
“As they say… no good deed ever goes unpunished,” Tseng commented… though his heart didn’t really seem to be in the sentiment. The redhead leaned back in his seat and breathed a quiet sigh of his own. It was nice to talk to Tseng about something other than work for a change. That seemed to be all they tended to discuss lately. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed having a normal, unimportant, bullshit conversation with the man.
“It will get easier,” the senior Turk suddenly commented, drawing Reno’s attention back to him. He chuckled softly at the younger man’s mildly surprised expression. “Your silence speaks volumes, whether you realize it or not. I promise you, this is not a permanent state for your career.”
Reno gave a soft laugh. “I know. You only remind me of that every few days…”
Tseng smiled slightly. “It’s an easy thing to forget. Especially when you can’t yet see the end of it. I wish I could tell you that I’ve been there… but frankly, my own experience transitioning into the second in command role likely pales in comparison. Which is the entire reason for this trip. I may not know exactly what you’re going through, but I know you.”
“So… how come there’s like… no info on this Healin place in the Company files, anyway?” he asked, curious, “‘Cause believe me, I looked.” Tseng chuckled quietly.
“There’s plenty… if you know where to look. But as it’s a private amenity, that information is largely kept on the private server shares. Though, to be honest, it’s a rather poorly guarded secret, in general. Nearly everyone who’s been around for a few years knows about it on at least some level. I have to admit, I’m rather surprised you don’t.”
Reno shrugged. “Guess it just never came up. Tch… bet Rude knows all about it…”
“A rather safe bet, I suspect,” Tseng laughed.
~end chapter 2~
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