Taking Care of Reno: Nibelheim
Chapter 5: Calling it a Night
Darkness had fallen once more, and Weston was no closer to getting himself out of his current predicament than he had been that morning. By that afternoon, he had no choice but to brave the mountainside again, as, down in the valley, he had no way to know whether he was coming or going. Unfortunately, what he’d learned from that was that he’d spent the entire morning going the wrong direction. He’d been moving steadily away from Nibelheim for hours.
Once he’d finished cursing his own foolishness, he’d set out properly… but by then the sky was already taking on the pink hue of late afternoon, and it was only a matter of time before the sun had sunken down behind the peaks, leaving him in a discomforting twilight. It wasn’t long after that that the light disappeared completely, and he’d resigned himself to spending yet another night on this Titan-be-damned rock.
At least the wind had calmed at bit. He was still nowhere near as warm as he’d prefer, but he certainly wasn’t about to try lighting a fire. Not with that… that thing… still wandering the mountainside. Hopefully, it would be a calm, cool spring night, and he’d be able to get some sleep and make it home when the sun rose again.
Just as the thought had entered his mind, however, a bright flash lit up his surroundings. It was followed by a crack of thunder loud enough to shake the ground… and then a moment later by a deluge of icy rain.
“Oh… Of course it’s raining! What else could possibly go wrong?” he shouted to the heavens in frustration.
As recruits went, Tseng supposed Heidegger could have done much worse. He was still indescribably angry at having personnel forced on him with no notice and no say in their recruitment… but at least Theo hadn’t been chosen entirely at random.
Tseng had spent the last two hours interrogating the young man, and had discovered that he was the son of a a former SOLDIER third class who’d been injured during the war with Wutaii, and forced into an early retirement. Theo’d had aspirations to join the Turks for years, and apparently when it had come time for him to join the recruitment program, his father had beseeched his own former commander to put in a good word for him.
Director Faine had gone a step further and approached Heidegger directly… and Tseng had little doubt that her motivation was intended specifically to annoy him. Faine still held a grudge against the Turks. This was pure petty revenge.
Still… he had to admit, Theo had potential. He was sharp, observant, and surprisingly creative. His combat skills were passable, at least, and he seemed to genuinely want to be there. The young man was also well aware that he hadn’t actually earned this position… which, in Tseng’s eyes, showed a level of humility that many recruits lacked when they first came on board.
Tseng still planned to register a formal complaint to the Board… but Theo had made enough of an impression that he was willing to give him a chance to prove himself. After all, Reno had come to them with no training at all, and his protege was shaping up to be one of the best the Turks had to offer. Perhaps lightning would strike twice.
If so, Tseng was fully prepared to rub it in Faine’s face and profusely offer smug thanks for her foresight and generosity.
That, however, would have to wait until he was more certain of Theo’s future. He’d sent the young man home with the assurance that he would have a fair and impartial opportunity… but would receive no special consideration in respect to his parentage. Theo had been quite eager to agree to those conditions.
Now, however, Tseng was alone. Still ensconced in his office, he was the last to leave tonight. Remy had bid him goodnight nearly half an hour ago… after he’d pulled her in to inform her of their new acquisition. She’d seemed as irate as he’d been at first, and he couldn’t blame her for it… but he’d sent her off, as well, reminding her that this was Heidegger’s doing. Not Theo’s.
Finally surrounded by peace and quiet, the Wutaiian Turk wanted little more than to simply go home… but he still had a few things to do. The nightmare of a roundup in the biologics labs had taken the better part of the day, and that, combined with the impromptu personnel interview and evaluation, had subsequently had left him with very little time to dedicate to his to-do list for the day… not the least of which was seeing to the paperwork necessary for Remy’s revised security clearance.
He’d also wanted to get a jump on his new “master plan” for Reno. Now that some of the strain was going to be lifted from the redhead’s shoulders, courtesy of his second Second in Command, he had the opportunity to plan things out properly at last. So much of of his protege’s training for the past month had been on the basis of necessity. He’d been teaching Reno what he needed to know as he needed to know it. There had been no rhyme nor reason to it. No logical progression. And perhaps worst of all, no time to verify that the lessons had been thoroughly understood before his protege had been thrown – repeatedly – into the deep end and expected to succeed. He truly wished he’d thought of this solution far sooner. It would have saved them both a great deal of pain, but Reno, in particular, as most of the burden had been on him.
Of course, now, he had to figure out how he was going to tell him.
There was virtually no doubt in Tseng’s mind that the redhead was going to see this as a failure on his part. That he’d been unable to perform to expectations. That he wasn’t progressing fast enough for his mentor’s exacting standards.
Frankly, as far as Tseng was concerned, that couldn’t be farther from the truth, but his protege… had a bit of a history of knee-jerk reactions in situations like this. And though he’d improved in that regard considerably since his rookie days, by now Tseng knew enough to plan ahead for it, just in case.
Besides which… even if he didn’t react badly, the Turk leader doubted that being told that he was going to temporarily share his position with Remy was going to be much of a confidence booster. Tseng was essentially forcing training wheels on him, and though it was absolutely necessary given the current circumstances, he couldn’t imagine any context wherein such an edict wouldn’t be at least somewhat humiliating from Reno’s point of view.
His goal certainly wasn’t to humiliate his protege. It was to help him. And he was going to have to be very careful to express that in the strongest terms possible.
He was still working on how exactly he was going to do that. One thing he knew for certain… he wasn’t going to tell him upon his return to Midgar. The redhead required an adjustment period when confronted with major changes in his routine. Springing something like this on him out of nowhere as soon as he got back to work would backfire spectacularly, Tseng was sure.
Instead, he’d decided that he’d travel to Healin Lodge himself. He’d already made his reservation, and though a bit last minute, the spa was exclusive enough that they were more than able to accommodate him.
In fact… if he left now rather than waiting until morning, they could likely still accommodate him. He could then spend the entirety of the weekend with Reno – something he hadn’t done in far too long – enjoying what the spa had to offer alongside him, and have all the time he needed to explain his reasoning and head off any objections… or spiraling confidence… immediately. And perhaps the news of a new rookie would temper the blow a bit, as well.
Tseng breathed a quiet sigh of relief, decision – and plans – made, and glanced over at the clock. It was just coming up on six-thirty. If he left now, he could easily run home, pack for a couple of days, and there by seven-thirty or eight… just in time for a late dinner, if Reno was so inclined – and the senior Turk would have been utterly shocked if he wasn’t, even if he’d already eaten by now.
Petra smiled softly as she took in the starry skies and warm breeze that was blowing in from the southern ocean. Mideel was lovely during the day, but it could be downright breathtaking at night, with the moon reflecting off the water and the sound of cicadas thrumming in the forest that surrounded the shore. The little town they were staying in was the epitome of quaint, and it lent itself so well to the overall ambiance that it was hard to believe she hadn’t somehow stepped right into a storybook.
Rufus rejoined her a moment later, passing her a glass of wine. She giggled softly.
“You know… I’m technically on duty. I’m not really supposed to.”
“I won’t tell Tseng if you don’t,” the Shinra heir teasingly replied, resuming his seat and taking a sip from his own glass. “It’s a very nice vintage. It would be a shame if you missed out due to protocol… which, I might remind you, we’re already very much breaking simply by enjoying this pleasant evening together…”
Petra’s smile widened slightly.
“You do have a point,” she laughed, obligingly taking a sip as well, as their waited for their meals to be served. The little seaside pub was quite busy inside… but out on the patio, they were, for the time being at any rate, alone. It was a bit past what Petra suspected was the usual dinner hour for most of the establishment’s patrons. They pair had opted for a walk along the beach before eating. It had lasted far longer than either of them had planned, so lost were they in conversation.
“I was thinking…” Rufus mused, gently swirling the dark liquid in his glass. “Neither of us are due back in Midgar before Monday, at the very earliest. Father certainly won’t bat an eye if I tell him negotiations ran through the remainder of the weekend… and our business here is concluded. Perhaps we should make a little… detour… on the way home tomorrow morning.”
“Oh?” she asked, coyly, “Where did you have in mind?”
The vice president chuckled softly and leaned forward, dropping his voice somewhat conspiratorially. “Tell me, my dear Petra… Have you ever heard of Healin Lodge?”
Ryu groaned as he flexed his fingers, which tingled unpleasantly from the motion. The bite hadn’t seemed all that bad when he’d left work earlier, but as the evening wore on, it had taken a decidedly nasty turn. The skin surrounding the injury was swollen and hot to the touch, and the whole area was now so sore than even the most minor contact was… far from agonizing, but certainly unpleasant.
He sighed in resignation. He was going to have to seek medical treatment for this before it got any worse. He should have just listened to Liam when he’d suggested – after he’d been bitten and again, after they’d returned to the office – that he have it looked at. But it really hadn’t been that bad just a few hours ago. It wasn’t even all that deep, to be honest.
But, in retrospect… he probably should have been a bit less complacent. The animal had come from one of Shinra’s biologic labs. He knew full well that much of the research they did in those labs was genetic in nature. Leviathan only knew what sorts of creatures they’d spliced together to make it. Clearly, something in its genetic lineage was venomous to some extent.
For a moment, he debated going in the morning, but finally shook his head and grabbed his keys. He’d already put it off once, thinking it would eventually resolve itself. He wasn’t going to make the situation worse by delaying treatment even longer. The last thing he needed was to be put on medical restriction. Hopefully, if he acted now, it would be much improved by the time he reported for work on Monday.
Reno had settled himself on the couch in his little “cabin’s” living room, with a beer and a movie… which, he had discovered, Healin offered on demand. All he had to do was pick what he wanted to watch from the on-screen library. It was fucking awesome.
It was kind of weird to think that, until yesterday, he’d had absolutely no clue this place even existed. If this was a taste of the perks real company executives got to enjoy on a regular basis, he could understand why the positions were so highly coveted. It wasn’t just the salary – though, he knew those were pretty exorbitant, as well – it was everything that came along with it.
Still, though… he was fairly certain he preferred his own position to that of a big-wig company exec. Somehow, the thought of doing Rufus’ job, for instance, didn’t appeal to him, no matter how good the perks were.
Even as insane as his job was right now.
He liked being a Turk. And he was pretty sure that, eventually, he was going to like being Second in Command, too. It was just going to take time. He could get through this… adjustment period. He just had to suck it up and get it done.
The soft chime of the cabin’s doorbell drew his attention away from the screen a moment later, and he frowned slightly, wondering who it’d be at this time of night. He hadn’t ordered anything from room service since dinner, or asked Kara for anything, and from what he’d seen during his short time here, the staff didn’t like to interrupt their guests without a good reason.
Shrugging to himself, he hit the pause button and hoisted his body off of the couch, making his way over and opening the door… and blinked in surprise.
“Tseng?” he queried, somewhat puzzled by his mentor’s sudden, and thoroughly unexpected, reappearance, and his first thought was that something must be wrong in Midgar. The senior Turk chuckled softly.
“You can relax. I’m not here to inform you of some disaster that’s befallen Headquarters,” he said, teasingly.
Reno smirked slightly. “Tch… yeah. You’re never gonna convince me you’re not psychic, Boss,” he snickered as he ushered him inside. “So why are you here, then? I mean… not that I’m complainin’, but I wasn’t expectin’ to see ya for a week.”
“I… somewhat belatedly realized that while I can’t in good conscience take the entire week off to join you here, there’s nothing preventing me from using my weekend as I see fit.”
“Seriously? You’re takin’ a vacation?” Reno replied, with feigned shock.
“Only in so much as I’m opting not to spend my weekend at home for a change…” Tseng replied to the gentle teasing, “I trust you’ve been enjoying your stay thus far?”
The redhead grinned, leading his mentor over to the recently vacated couch. The two men took a seat. “Heh… let’s just say that if you’d let me keep my phone, I’da already called to tell ya I wasn’t ever comin’ back…” he said, and Tseng laughed softly. “You want a beer or somethin’?”
“A little scotch would be most welcome, if you’re willing to spare it from the mini-bar. I assume the staff amply fulfilled my request in that regard?”
“Heh… I knew that couldn’t possibly come standard with the room…” Reno snickered as he got up and headed towards the kitchen. He returned in short order with the requested drink, as well as another Ultima for himself. He settled himself back on the couch beside he mentor and handed him the glass. “So… you really here to relax for a couple of days? Or just to check up on me ‘n make sure I’m relaxin’?”
“A bit of both, truthfully,” Tseng said with a gentle laugh, “And… I do, admittedly have a few other things I wish to discuss with you, but it’s not so desperately urgent that it can’t wait until tomorrow.” He shook his head and took a drink. “Besides which… after the day I’ve had, I’m not in the mood to delve into any discussion more urgent than the details of the deep tissue massage I fully intend to avail myself of first thing in the morning.”
“Don’t tell me… Heidegger’s startin’ shit again?” the redhead ventured, curious, though to his surprise, Tseng only chuckled and shook his head.
“You could say that. I’ll fill you in on that matter tomorrow, as I’m entirely too likely to put my fist through a wall if I try and discuss it at the moment. And on top of his interference, Biologics had an… incident earlier today. Several dozen lab specimens escaped their containment, and the entire team spent the better part of the afternoon rounding them up.”
Reno cringed. “Guess that explains why your face is all scratched up… Sorry I missed it,” he said.
“I certainly wish I had,” Tseng deadpanned, “Though to be fair, I got off comparatively unscathed. Kai received a rather nasty bite to the leg. She’s not officially sidelined at the moment, but Ward wants to see her on Monday for reevaluation before she’ll sign off on her being fit for full duty.” He paused and looked directly at the redhead. “And that does not mean I need you back early on account. Rude can handle training duties if Kai is unavailable.”
The younger Turk grinned. “Yep… You’re totally psychic, Boss. Never gonna convince me otherwise.”
Tseng snorted in amusement. “There’s nothing ‘psychic’ about me… I simply know you well enough by now to predict your most likely reaction to a given situation.”
“Yeah, yeah… just keep denyin’ it,” Reno said, smirking. He leaned back against the plush cushions, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. “So just in case I forget later… thanks for makin’ me do this. I really needed the break.” He looked up again. “By the way… you ever had a mud bath? That’s what Kara’s got me signed up for after breakfast tomorrow.”
“Kara?” Tseng inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“My… ya know… concierge or whatever.”
“Ah,” he said, with a knowing smile. “Yes, I have partaken of that particular activity on previous visits. It’s certainly an interesting experience, though I think I prefer a nice soak in a hot spring to being submerged in mud, personally. You certainly come out of a spring cleaner, at any rate.”
The redhead snickered quietly, thinking back to their somewhat impromptu visit to one such spring in Wutai awhile back. It had been kind of neat… but there hadn’t really been much to do.
“Yeah… I still don’t really get the appeal of hot springs. I mean… the water’s nice ‘n all, but what’s the fun in just sittin’ there doin’ nothin’?”
“It’s not meant to be ‘fun’. It’s meant to be relaxing and rejuvenating,” Tseng replied, and smiled, “Not everyone feels the need to be constantly in motion the way you do. Some of us are perfectly content to sit quietly, reflecting on our day or meditating.”
Reno shrugged. “Never really figured out the whole meditating thing either,” he said, grinning.
“I’m shocked,” his mentor deadpanned, drawing a laugh from the younger Turk. “It has been awhile, though, since I enjoyed a mud bath… I may perhaps join you tomorrow. They are an excellent precursor to a massage…”
“Ya know… I never really figured you for the kinda guy who’s into this kinda thing, Boss…” Reno commented, polishing of the last few drops of his beer. The Turk leader smirked.
“I don’t indulge often… but on occasion, even I have to admit that it’s nice to be catered to and pampered,” he answered, with a somewhat enigmatic smile.
It was getting late, and he really should have been heading off to bed by now, but Rude had found himself thoroughly unable to settle himself that evening. Earlier in the afternoon, word had come across his desk on a possibly lead on a person of interest… and now he was awaiting confirmation and an update from the source who’d sent in the tip.
Istev.
He’d allegedly been sighted near Gongaga. Two and a half years, now, Rude had been searching for that bastard. He’d had a lead awhile back, but it hadn’t panned out. Hopefully, this time he’d have better luck.
The mercenary bomber had all but vanished off the face of the planet following the – ultimately fruitless – attack on the treaty signing with Wutai. The Turks had captured and executed his cohort, Fuhito… but Istev has slipped through their fingers. He’d been largely inactive in the time since then… likely well aware that he was wanted by Shinra’s Turks, and that if they did manage to catch up to him, he wouldn’t be walking away from the encounter. In fact, this was the first rumor Rude had heard regarding his whereabouts in well over a year. The man certainly knew how to hide.
Rude wanted him dead. He didn’t really care how it was accomplished, so long as Istev wasn’t still out there, walking around, while three Turks were dead, directly at his hands, and another killed during earlier actions the bomber had helped set in motion. Rude’s own mentor had been among them, and he’d made a promise after Tres had died, if only to himself, to make Istev pay for it one day. His fury at the man had never abated… only morphed into a slow, simmering rage that surged to a boil any time he thought about him.
If this lead turned out to be legitimate, he’d be heading straight for the western continent five minutes later. But first he needed confirmation. Their resources were stretched at the moment, and he couldn’t just take off on a hunch if there was no immediate danger to the Company. Istev was a priority target, to be killed on sight, but he wasn’t regarded as an active threat. Just someone they wanted taken out.
Rude sighed and stretched out on the couch. He wasn’t likely to hear from his contact until morning at the very earliest. There was no sense in waiting up all night… though he wasn’t especially keen on trying to sleep, either.
He kind of wished Reno were in town. The redhead was a notorious night owl, and would probably be up for hours yet, anyway. Under normal circumstances, he’d have been more than willing to come over for awhile. Rude could have used the company.
Hell, even under current circumstances, he’d have come. And Rude immediately felt guilty for even thinking of it. Reno had become a virtual hermit outside of the office lately, owing to his current workload. His friend was tired. Exhausted. The idea of asking him to come and take his mind off his aspirations for vengeance, and knowing that the redhead would have whether he wanted to or not, wouldn’t have sat well with Rude. But it didn’t really matter. Reno was up in the mountains getting some much-needed rest, and completely incommunicado for the next week.
Rude snorted a soft laugh. It was probably a good idea for Tseng to have confiscated the redhead’s phone. Even if Reno, by some miracle, wasn’t tempted to call him, Rude almost certainly would have done so himself at some point. It was rare that they went an entire day without some form of contact, and Rude had long ago noticed how much he missed it when they did. Odd, given just how much of a loner he’d been before meeting Reno.
At last he sighed, and hauled himself off of the couch. If he wasn’t going to be sleeping and he couldn’t call up his best friend to chat, he might as well put his wakefulness to good use and do some meal prep for next week. It was always nice to have his menu planned out ahead of time.
~end chapter 5~
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