Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 101: Endgame

Reno cautiously peered around the door frame and into the starkly white room. Rude had found a possible lead on Fuhito buried in the hours upon hours of video footage. He’d slipped aboard a departing ferry in the aftermath of the bombing as civilians were being cleared out. Veld had taken the young Turk with him to see if they couldn’t head off their quarry before the boat made it to shore. Hopefully, they’d be able to take down Istev at the same time, but there hadn’t been any sign of him on the video. It was possible the pair had split up and made their escape separately.

The redhead had wanted to go, too… but he was denied. Kai was still working on getting information out of Rodney’s father. The Colonel wasn’t exactly forthcoming, but if she did get a lead, she’d need backup of her own, and with Remy and Sato in Midgar and Tseng and Cissnei out of commission, that job fell to him.

But for now, he wasn’t needed anywhere in particular. He’d opted to take the brief respite from the chase to check in on his mentor. Now, though… he was hesitating.

He swallowed sharply at the sight that greeted him and almost turned right around and went back the way he came.

Tseng was asleep – or unconscious… he couldn’t be sure which – with any number of cords and wires and tubes stuck in him, attaching him to IVs and monitors and Shiva only knew what else. What the redhead could see of his torso was heavily bandaged… and it occurred to him that he’d never actually seen Tseng get hurt before. Not like this, at any rate. He didn’t like it.

For some reason, Tseng had always seemed kind of… invincible. Okay, sure, he’d been scared that night when he found him after Mayu had been killed. But his concern then had been what Tseng might do to himself. That was completely different from what Reno had to worry about now. The thought that Tseng really had almost been blown to the next world earlier today made him shudder.

If he’d been just a little closer to the blast…

It took him several minutes, in fact, to work up the nerve to step all the way into the room, and even then his approach was slow and hesitant.

He was being stupid. Tseng was fine. Well… maybe not fine, but he wasn’t going to just up and die on him if he made too much noise or got too close. Seeing him like this, though… it just felt so wrong.

He wasn’t sure how long it actually took him to cross the room and take a seat at his mentor’s bedside, but it felt like an eternity. And once he was there, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted desperately to reassure himself that Tseng was going to be alright… but he didn’t dare wake the injured man up. He finally just settled back in the chair, sitting silently, his eyes watching with rapt attention the rise and fall of Tseng’s chest as he slept.

He was so focused on making sure the man continued breathing that he didn’t even notice when Tseng opened his eyes a few minutes later.

“I sincerely hope that’s not what I looked like watching you sleep when you were injured…” he said, a hint of teasing in his tone. Reno jumped, startled out of his almost trance-like state.

“T-Tseng!” he stammered.

“It’s alright, Reno. I’m fine,” the Wutaiian Turk assured him. “Perhaps a bit more battered than I’d prefer, but there’s no cause for concern.”

Reno couldn’t find the words to respond to that, so great was the sudden wave of relief that washed over him.

“Has there been any word on our targets?” Tseng asked, apparently sensing his protege’s discomfort and changing the subject.

“Y-yeah. We found Fuhito… Well, we know where he’s headin’ and how he’s gettin’ there, anyway. If we can catch up to him in time, we got him. Veld ‘n Rude are on it.”

“And Istev?” he queried. Reno shook his head.

“Vanished. Kai’s tryin’ to get some answers outta Rodney’s old man, though. If he does know somethin’, me ‘n her are goin’ after the bastard.”

Tseng’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What in Leviathan’s name does Rodney’s father have to do with anything?”

The redhead shifted uncomfortably. For some reason, it just hadn’t occurred to him that Tseng wasn’t fully up to date on what was going on. In retrospect, that was a pretty stupid assumption on his part. His mentor was in a hospital bed, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t as if he was getting regular briefings.

“Uhh… What’s the last thing Veld told ya, exactly?” he asked, not sure where to start. Tseng glanced away momentarily.

“The last time we spoke, it was to inform me of Tres’ death,” he looked back over at the redhead. “I take it there are some new developments?”

“… Yeah. You could say that,” Reno said, awkwardly. He hadn’t expected to be the one to have to tell Tseng that one of their own had turned traitor. “So… It kinda turns out that Rodney’s the one who let ’em in. And it also kinda turns out he’s not as dead as we thought he was.”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed. “What?” he hissed.

“Me ‘n Rude were goin’ through Tres’ video footage. We got him on camera at the elevator last night. He took out two Junon security guards ‘n unlocked it for ’em.”

“You’re absolutely certain?” the older Turk said, and the disbelief in his tone was readily apparent. Reno nodded.

“Yeah… we’re sure. Got him again later, after the bomb went off, headin’ for his dad’s quarters. Son of a bitch just fuckin’ left you all there to die.”

Tseng closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. “No Turk has betrayed Shinra Company in… well, most certainly never in the time that I’ve been a Turk. How could he…?”

“Been tryin’ to figure that out all day. I… just don’t know. But he was sayin’ some shit a few days ago that kinda creeped me out. ‘Bout how Wutai outta be punished, ‘n how Shinra’s gettin’ screwed with this treaty…”

“And you didn’t think to say anything?!” Tseng demanded, angrily. Reno’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden venom in his voice.

“Y-yeah… I did! I told Veld soon as I had the chance. He said he’d talk to him.”

Tseng shut his eyes again for a moment, and then set his gaze on the ceiling. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I just…” He sighed in frustration.

“… can’t believe it?” Reno ventured.

“Believing it isn’t the issue. Accepting it is the real difficulty. When we decided to promote him, Veld and I were in absolute agreement that Rodney looked like the ideal candidate. He looked entirely perfect on paper. We were even more convinced after observing him in person. Neither of us had any misgivings whatsoever. How could we both have been so very wrong?”

“Ya know… I remember you tellin’ me once that you’d never met anyone who was perfect… and that you weren’t expectin’ me to be the first. Maybe lookin’ good on paper’s not such a great test for actually bein’ perfect.”

Tseng gave a faint chuckle in spite of himself. “If I recall correctly, that statement was made after you stole my car. But your point is taken. Perhaps our expectations of Rodney were a bit… biased… based on his record.”

“So… what happens now?” Reno asked.

“Rodney becomes a target for immediate elimination, I would assume. Veld will likely make him a priority, given his knowledge of Shinra security and protocols. If he’s truly gone to work for Fuhito’s group, he needs to be disposed of as soon as possible. Inside information like that is extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.” He paused a moment and then fixed the redhead with a serious look. “You said you believe that Fuhito and Istev went off separately after the bombing?” Reno nodded. “Then Rodney likely did as well. I want you to go and speak with Cissnei. She is probably closer to Rodney than anyone. Find out if he mentioned to her someplace he might go if he were ever in trouble… or even just somewhere of great sentimental value to him. She may have a clue to his whereabouts and not even realize it.”

“On it, Boss,” the redhead replied, scurrying to his feet.

---

Rude ran, his lungs burning with the exertion. He was no longer certain where Veld was, but he knew the Turk leader had to be nearby. They’d been too late to stop the ferry from docking at Costa del Sol, but Fuhito’s luck had run out there. They’d spotted him leaving the ship.

Unfortunately, he’d seen them as well, and taken off running, shouldering his way through the crowd as they disembarked, bowling several of his fellow passengers over. At least one less than lucky tourist had ended up in the water along with his luggage.

Now, it was down to a foot pursuit. He and Veld had separated, hoping to cut off their target’s escape. Rude had been close to tackling him at one point, but Fuhito had shoved a cartload of exotic fruit into his path, which the young Turk had only narrowly managed to avoid crashing into. Though he hadn’t been tripped up by the maneuver, he had been slowed down. He wished he had a little of his fellow former-rookie’s agility at the moment. Reno likely could have vaulted over the damned thing running and never lost a step. Rude had had to dart around it, not fully trusting himself to make the jump without landing on his ass on the other side.

The unforeseen slowdown had cost him. Fuhito had wasted no time in increasing the distance between them, and had turned down a side street, causing Rude to lose sight of him. A part of him feared the worst… The longer he was out of sight, the more likely he was to disappear again. If Rude took a wrong turn, he could lose him for good.

It was a relief, therefore, he he rounded the corner and saw Fuhito slip around the back of a building. The Turk sprinted after him, putting everything he had into it in an attempt to catch up. As it turned out, he needn’t have bothered.

As he reached the spot where Fuhito had disappeared again, he found the man laid out flat on the ground groaning as he clutched a badly bloodied nose, Veld standing over him. The Turk leader was breathing heavily from his own race to capture the target, but wore a undisguised smirk of triumph.

“Deal with him,” Veld ordered, as he leaned against the wall of the building and tried to catch his breath, muttering something about getting too old for this sort of thing. Rude was only too happy to seize the mercenary, roughly flipping him over and securing his hands behind his back. He would have liked to do much worse… but Istev was still out there, and if anyone knew where the bomber had gone to hide, it would be his partner.

And as much as Rude wanted Fuhito… he wanted Istev more. Istev was the one with Turk blood on his hands. He was the one who’d set the bombs and triggered the explosion. He was the one who’d killed Tres. And he was going to pay for it. Rude didn’t care how long it took, what he had to do, or how far he had to go to find that bastard… He’d pay. Tres deserved at least that much.

---

“Hey there…” a voice called out to him, interrupting Tseng’s study of his room’s ceiling tiles. He redirected his gaze towards the source and was greeted by the familiar figure of Kai standing in the doorway. “Geez… Don’t they ever check in on you or anything? Every time I come up here, no one seems to be around.”

“Hmph… If you were the one stuck laying here, you wouldn’t dare ask that question. I am allegedly supposed to be ‘resting’… How that’s possible when the medical staff insists on rousing me every hour for medication, or to take my blood pressure, or merely to assure themselves that I’ve not yet expired, is a mystery to me.”

Kai snorted and crossed the room, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

“You always were a terrible patient. How’s the lung?” she asked.

“It has not re-collapsed, so far as I’m aware. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Has there been any news?”

“Not yet. I just wanted to look in on you.”

“I’m fine,” Tseng hurriedly assured the woman.

“Are you?”

The Turk lieutenant rolled his eyes. “And just what is that supposed to mean.”

“Just that I know you… and what you’ve been through,” Kai replied, “We lost three Turks, Tseng. Technically four… because you know we can’t let Rodney live after what he’s done. I know that you’re feeling that loss as much as I am. They were family.”

Tseng looked away for a moment. “Yes… they were,” he said, quietly, “Even Rodney…”

“It’s not your fault, you know. You couldn’t have known.”

The Turk lieutenant turned back to her. “He was my top pick.”

“And Veld’s,” said Kai, “And it’s not his fault, either. No one could have predicted that he’d go rogue. Not even our illustrious second in command who keeps claiming not to be psychic, even though we all know otherwise…”

Tseng snorted a soft, mirthless laugh, before shaking his head. “At the moment, I wish I could live up to the rumor… Perhaps this could have been prevented.”

“That’s my point. This wasn’t something you could have prevented. No matter how much we tease you about it, you’re not psychic. It’s not you fault.”

The Turk second in command managed a faint smile. “Ah… I see. You’ve come to rescue me from being devoured by my own guilt. If you’re trying to prevent me from undoing months of therapy, I’m afraid you’re a little late to the party. Reno has already been here and had much the same conversation with me… though in his case, I believe it was quite effectively accomplished without him ever intending to do so. I do appreciate the thought, though.”

“Figures,” Kai snickered. “He’s got an empathetic instinct you never did… at least not until he came along.”

“Hmph… Was that an insult or a compliment?” Tseng queried.

“Both,” the diminutive Turk, replied, grinning. “Face it, Tseng… He’s changed you. For the better, in my not so humble opinion. That kid’s gonna make a good Second one day.”

“I… have to admit, I’m forced to agree. On both counts. Look after him for me, will you, Kai? I can’t keep nearly as close an eye on him as I would like from this bed.”

“Don’t worry,” Kai replied, “I’ll make sure our baby Turkling stays in one piece until you’re back on your feet.” She suddenly grinned evilly, “But after that, he’s fair game for the gauntlet again. Can’t let him go soft, now, can we?”

Tseng could only shake his head and sigh.

“You know, he’s not technically a Turkling anymore… and I’m not sure your diminutive is entirely appreciated. Or ever was, for that matter.”

Kai grinned widely.

“Yeah, well… when he finally starts looking older than twelve, I’ll consider calling him something else. Maybe.”

---

“Just outta curiosity… how the fuck’d you manage to get all the way up here with only one good leg?”

Cissnei turned to look back over her shoulder, and was greeted by the sight of a familiar figure making its way towards her. She didn’t say anything until Reno reached her.

“It wasn’t easy,” she replied, returning her gaze to the sea, “… But the view was worth it.”

The redhead lowered himself down beside her, letting his legs dangle over the edge.

“They’re… uh… not gonna be test firin’ this thing any time soon, right?” he queried, and though his tone was joking, she could hear just a little bit of apprehension behind the words. She manged a slight smile. To be fair, the barrel of Junon’s ginormous mako canon probably wasn’t the safest place to be enjoying the sunset… but it was quiet, and she’d figured that no one from base security was likely to venture out to bother her. At least not right away.

“Thinkin’ about Rodney?” Reno asked when she didn’t answer him. She nodded.

“I just… don’t understand. I wish I could ask him why.” The rookie Turk looked over at her unexpected company. “And I’m probably never going to be able to, am I? I’m probably never even going to see him again. My leg won’t be healed in time to help find him… and Veld’s not going to have him brought in alive.”

Reno wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in against his side, and Cissnei gladly leaned into the comforting warmth of his body.

“He was my friend, Reno. At least… I thought he was.”

“… I know. This whole mess sucks.”

She sighed and let her head rest on his shoulder.

“I always knew being a Turk wouldn’t be easy. I just didn’t know it could hurt so much.”

His grip on her tightened, and for a moment he said nothing. At last, though, the redhead echoed her sigh.

“I hate to do this right now, but… Tseng kinda sent me to talk to ya. He wants me to ask you if Rodney ever talked about somewhere he might go if he was ever really in deep shit.”

Cissnei lifted her head and turned to look at him. She could see the guilt in his eyes, and she could tell that he hadn’t wanted to ask her to betray her friend… but he was duty-bound to follow the orders he’d been given. Just as she was duty-bound to answer honestly. She looked back out across the ocean, watching the fading sunlight play on the waves.

“Yeah,” she said after a moment, “I do know one place he might go. But before I tell you where, will you promise me something?”

“What?” Reno asked.

“If you see him before he –” she began, only to find herself unable to put the thought of her fellow rookie’s impending fate into words, “If you see him… ask him why for me.”

“I’ll do my best,” he replied. Cissnei nodded in understanding. Even if he were the one to catch up to him, Rodney might not give him the chance to question him. It would just have to do. She took a deep breath and steeled herself to betray the confidence of someone she’d thought of as family.

---

“Yes, sir… that’s what she said,” Reno confirmed.

“Where’s Kai?” Veld asked, his voice staticy over the the combination of his PHS and the radio headset.

“She’s back interrogatin’ Rodney’s da–… er… Colonel Galena, sir. You want me to grab her and go after Rod?”

Veld was silent, and for a brief moment, Reno half thought the call had dropped. Finally, though, he answered him.

“No. I need her with Fuhito as soon as we arrive. He’s not going to break easily, if he breaks at all, and Kai is our best interrogator. Istev is far more experienced at disappearing than Rodney is. We need to catch up to him as soon as possible, or we may lose him for good.”

“Yes, sir…” the redhead replied, frowning.

“… I don’t want to do this,” Veld suddenly continued, “But we’re stretched thin at the moment. Do you feel capable of handling Rodney on your own?”

Reno felt a chill run down his spine. Veld wanted him to go after the son of a bitch? Alone? He swallowed sharply, and tried to respond, but his throat seemed to have temporarily seized up.

“Rodney is terminate on sight,” Veld prodded, “I need an honest answer. Can you hunt down and execute another Turk?”

He wasn’t overly worried about not having someone to watch his back. It wasn’t an issue of skill. He knew he could handle just about anything Rodney could throw at him, even if it came down to a one on one fight, rather than a gunshot at long range. But… could he bring himself to do it?

He had no great fondness for Rodney. Hell, at this point, he’d even say the fucker had it coming for what he’d done. But still… there was something inherently different between taking down some random jackass the Turks had marked for death and gunning down someone he’d spent nearly the last year training beside.

On top of that, he wouldn’t be backing up a more experienced Turk. He’d have to pull the trigger himself.

But then… if he didn’t, someone else would have to. If they didn’t go after him now, they ran the risk of Rodney pulling a disappearing act just like Istev. Sure… they’d propbably catch up to him eventually, but… hell, by then Cissnei might be back to work. The thought of her being stuck doing it, or even just having to watch someone else do it, made him slightly ill.

“Y-yes, sir,” he finally stammered. “Leave it to me.”

“You’re certain?” Veld asked, “I know what I’m asking of you, and I don’t do so lightly. This is your one and only chance to refuse.”

Reno exhaled shakily. “I can do it, sir.”

“Then you have your orders. Get moving,” the Turk leader replied, “And Reno… be safe.”

“Yes, sir.”

---

The next time Tseng woke, it was clearly nighttime. He could tell, even with the curtains closed tightly across the window on the other side of the room. Somehow the shadows always seemed heavier at night. He groaned faintly and shifted position as much as his bandages would allow him. He detested convalescence. He would much rather be working. Sitting around all day waiting for injuries to knit felt like such an incredible waste of time.

Tseng was a little surprised that Reno hadn’t yet returned… or perhaps his protege had, in fact, come back after speaking to Cissnei, and he’d merely been asleep again. Painkillers did tend to make him drowsy, and he was fairly certain he was on a rather high dose at the moment. He should have ordered the redhead to wake him if that were the case, but it hadn’t occurred to him at the time.

The door to his room opened on silent hinges, and the Turk lieutenant bit back a dismayed sigh. He had little doubt that it was one of the ward nurses coming to check on him yet again.

… Which was why he was pleasantly surprised when the figure that entered the room was far more familiar a sight.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I hate seeing you like this?” Veld queried, as he shut the door behind him.

“Very nearly every time I’ve ended up in this condition, sir,” Tseng replied, “Though were it up to me, I would be recuperating at home, rather than in a hospital bed. Or perhaps at the office?”

“You will not return to work until you’re cleared for it, and that’s final, Tseng,” Veld stated. “Which reminds me… I need to inform Medical of yours and Cissnei’s injuries first thing in the morning to ensure that you don’t make the attempt.”

“I suppose I deserved that, given my history…” Tseng chuckled.

“Hmph… Aside from your usual determination to work yourself to the bone, how are you feeling?”

“Well, enough, considering.” He glanced up at the Turk leader. “Reno said earlier that you had a lead on Fuhito. Did you have any luck?”

Veld nodded. “It was a very close thing, but we caught up to him. I’ve left him in Kai’s capable hands. Hopefully, our luck will hold and he’ll tell us where Istev has gone to ground as well.”

“If anyone can… convince… him to tell us, it’s Kai. What about Rodney?”

“He’s… being dealt with.”

“Then Cissnei had some thoughts as to where he ran off to, I take it.”

“Yes… She did. And frankly I don’t know whether to thank you for sending Reno to question her, or chastise you for working instead of recuperating.”

Tseng smirked and laid back against his pillow. “I certainly know which I would prefer. Though I’m surprised you summoned Remy away from Midgar to go after him. From what I’ve heard, Sato is in no condition mentally to manage the office right now., and the President will want regular updates…”

Veld cleared his throat loudly and looked down at his shoes for a brief moment before returning his gaze to his protege. “I didn’t send Remy,” he replied, matter-of-factly.

“You didn’t send Sato to deal with a rogue Turk… not after what happened to Saya…” he said, slightly aghast at the idea.

“Of course not,” the Turk leader scoffed, and Tseng suddenly realized that the only other Turk not presently working on something else, sidelined, or deceased was…

“… not Reno…” he breathed. “Sir… please tell me you didn’t order him to terminate Rodney.”

“I needed Kai for the interrogation. He was the only available Turk,” Veld replied, simply.

“Sir… He… he can’t –”

“Handle it?” Veld finished for him. The Turk leader shook his head. “I think you’re underestimating him, Tseng. I’ll admit… it certainly wasn’t my first choice to send someone who’s only just been promoted from rookie status out on such an assignment, but Reno will get the job done.”

Tseng snorted softly. “And who will clean up the aftermath?” he asked, bitterly. “Even a seasoned Turk would balk at taking down one of our own. Did you even consider what this could do to him? How it might affect him?”

Veld sighed and took a seat in the chair beside the bed. “Yes. Yes, I did. But Rude and I were still hours away, Kai had her hands full with Colonel Galena’s interrogation, and besides which, I needed her here when we arrived with Fuhito. And you said yourself, Sato is in no condition mentally for a task like that right now, and Remy is needed at headquarters.” He looked over at his protege and shook his head. “I didn’t want to send him. So much so that I even gave him the opportunity to refuse the order… and you know damned well that I never do that, particularly when the assignment is an important one.”

Tseng closed his eyes and swallowed sharply. Reno was so young, and so kind-hearted. He hadn’t yet been hardened against such things, and this… well, to be honest, there was no precedent for this. Turks were loyal almost to a fault. He’d never so much as heard of one betraying Shinra Company in recent memory. The closest he could come was a decades-old story of a Turk that had attempted to destroy an experiment and the staff involved with it at the Nibelheim lab… and frankly, he’d never actually been able to verify that it had ever even happened. For all he knew, it was merely the Turk’s version of a morality tale to tell new recruits to keep them in line. He could hardly imagine hunting one of their own down himself… let alone sending someone so relatively inexperienced to do it.

“He’s stronger than I think you’re giving him credit for,” Veld added after a few moments of silence. “He won’t enjoy this, and he’ll likely never forget it… but I don’t think it will haunt him in the way you’re envisioning.”

“I… can’t shield him forever, can I, sir?” Tseng softly replied.

“No more than I could spare you from the realities of our job when you were younger. It’s something we all have to learn to live with eventually.” He patted the younger Turk’s shoulder. “He’ll be alright. You’ll make sure of it… just as I have always done for you.”

“Did you really have to make it so difficult for me to do so, sir? At present, I’m stuck flat on my back for Leviathan only knows how much longer. It’s hardly conducive to caring for a traumatized protege…” he stated, flatly.

“I think you can manage,” Veld said, smirking, “If it helps, consider it your new assignment. I know how eager you are to get back to work.”

“Very funny, sir,” Tseng sighed.

---

The sun was coming up. He’d spent all fucking night trying to find this place, based on Cissnei’s fairly vague directions. Rodney had only ever told her about it… never actually taken her there… so she’d only had a very general idea of where exactly it was. On top of that, the nights lately were taking a turn towards much cooler temperatures as the seasons shifted… All in all, it hadn’t been the most pleasant travel experience.

He was cold, and tired, and hungry, and he had a really shitty job to do.

That was, of course, assuming that Rodney was even here. It was just as possible that this whole trip had been a waste of time and the asshole was hiding out somewhere warmer and not as… outdoors.

The thin tail of smoke that was rising a short distance away from his present position, however, led him to believe that the rookie Turk was, in fact, nearby. They were isolated enough out here that running into someone else was fairly unlikely.

Cissnei had told him about this place in as much detail as she could remember, and thus far, things were starting to match up pretty well. It was up in the mountains, north of Junon, just at the point where the trees began to give way to high cliffs and rocky slopes. He’d had to cross a damned river to get here – which had been a whole lot of fun in the middle of the night – and then start making his way upwards through the patchy forest. He’d finally found the trailhead just before dawn.

It wasn’t much of a trail, really, being overgrown in a few places, and washed out by old landslides and flash flooding in others… but it was a trail nonetheless. In the growing light of early morning, Reno could see that someone had been using it recently, too. A broken branch here… a stray footprint there. It was enough even for him, with his limited outdoors training, to follow. And then he’d spotted the smoke and was all but certain he was in the right place.

Kind of a dumb move, he thought to himself as he slowed his pace a bit in an effort to remain silent and undetected. If he were trying to hide from people who wanted to kill him, he sure as fuck wouldn’t be sending up smoke signals.

It briefly entered his mind that maybe this was a trap of some sort… or a diversion. Maybe Rod had lit that fire and then run like hell, hoping that if someone was tracking him, they’d go to the obvious campsite while he fucked off in the opposite direction as fast as he fucking could. Of course, if that was the case, Reno was already screwed. If Rod was long gone when he got there, the redhead had no idea which direction to even look. Tracking people through the wilderness was Kai’s thing. Not his. He’d probably just get himself lost in the Ifrit-forsaken woods if he attempted it.

A part of him kind of hoped that that’s exactly what had happened. That Rod had already made his escape and Reno would have to report back that he’d been too late. Another part of him just wanted this to be over… even if he had to end it himself.

As he crept stealthily towards the campfire, however, it quickly became apparent that this was no trick or diversionary tactic. A figure sat, hunched over the fire and wrapped in a blanket, poking at the pile of burning logs with a stick. Reno slipped his gun from its holster and moved in closer.

He had to be sure. He couldn’t just take the shot and hope it was his target, and from this distance, it could have been just about anyone. But the closer he got, the more he risked Rodney detecting him. As he moved to his right, trying to get a better view, the figure stiffened, and somehow, Reno just knew… something had given him away.

Rodney slowly turned to face him.

“I should have known they’d send you,” he sneered, making no attempt at hiding just how he felt about that. “It’s always you, isn’t it?”

Reno leveled the gun at him, and Rodney snorted in mirthless laughter.

“Either get it over with now, or put that thing down. I’m done running. There’s no point anymore.”

Reno cautiously lowered the weapon, but wasn’t about to be foolish enough to holster it. Rodney turned his attention back on the fire.

“Did… Did Tres and Tseng make it?” he asked, suddenly.

“Tch… Why the hell do you care?” the redhead found himself asking, venom behind the words, “You left ’em to die. You fuckin’ betrayed us all, ‘n then you left them to die!”

“I know,” Rodney said, barely a whisper.

“You know?” Reno parroted, incredulously, “That’s all you got to say? You fuckin’ know?”

The rookie glared at him. “Well, what the hell you you want me to say?! I know what I did! You think I’m proud of it? You think I wanted them to die?”

“How the fuck should I know?!” Reno shot back, “I don’t get you, Rod. You’ve been an asshole since day one, but you were a goddamn Turk! Turks don’t fucking betray their own!”

Rodney scowled and pointedly looked away, staring into the flames of the campfire.

“… Tres died. Tseng’s hurt, but he’ll be okay,” the redhead finally replied. Maybe it was his imagination, but for a moment, he thought he saw the rookie’s shoulder’s slump. “Cissnei got shot, ya know. Leg wound.”

“No… I didn’t know,” Rodney replied, quietly.

“Why’d ya do it, man?” Reno finally asked, “Just… why?”

“My father. It was his idea,” the rookie answered, still refusing to meet his eye. “He… doesn’t want the war to end. Not until Wutai is utterly annihilated so that they’ll never pose a threat again. He thought that if there were an attack on the President himself, Wutai would be blamed and Shinra would have no choice. They’d have to retaliate, and this time, there’d be no treaty. We’d just wipe them off the face of the planet. So… he hired Fuhito and Istev to make sure that’s exactly what happened. He ultimately did it to protect Shinra.”

“Bullshit,” the redhead spat. “You don’t protect somethin’ by blowin’ it up! Why the fuck’d you go along with somethin’ like that?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Reno growled low in his throat and stormed over, closing the distance between them and clocking the bastard in the face. Rodney ended up sprawled on the ground, the redhead’s gun once more trained on him.

“You know what I’m here to do. And it’s gettin’ done, whether you explain yourself or not,” he said, menacingly, “Only reason you’re still breathin’ right now is ’cause I made a promise to Cissnei. She wants to know why. So if you got anything ta say for yourself, now’s the time to fuckin’ say it, asshole!”

Rodney glared at him defiantly as he scrambled to his feet. “You want to know why?! Fine! I did it because no matter how hard I try, no matter how good I am, it’s never enough. Not for him.”

Reno blinked in shock at the unexpected outburst. He knew from Cissnei that Rod’s dad put a lot of pressure on him, but… he’d had no idea it was this bad. Rodney shook his head and sighed, a defeated look on his face.

“Just once,” he continued, “Just fucking once in his entire miserable life… I wanted him to be proud of me.” He sank down onto the log he’d been sitting on before Reno’s arrival. “All I ever wanted… was for him to look at me the way I see Tseng look at you. Just once.”

The two young men stared at one another for a long moment, neither entirely sure what to say.

“I’m done running,” Rodney, at last, reiterated. “And I’m done with him. Just… make it quick.”

Reno frowned and slowly raised his weapon again, taking aim, but hesitating. This whole Ifrit-be-damned situation was a hundred levels of fucked up. He wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong. And in the end, he supposed it didn’t matter one way or the other. He had his orders.

“Tell Cissnei I’m sorry,” Rod added, “And… that I chose the wrong family.”

A few seconds later a gunshot echoed among the trees, sending a nearby flock of birds scattering into the sky in fright.

~end chapter 101~