Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 13: To Train a Turk

Promptly at four forty-five the next morning, Reno found himself rather rudely awakened from a peaceful slumber as Tseng unabashedly strode into his room, flicked on the light, and began rifling through his closet. He tossed some workout clothes onto the teenager’s chest, prompting a groan from the sleepy redhead.

“Time to get up!” he said, with far too much enthusiasm.

“What the fuck, Tseng? It’s still dark out…” He rolled over, burying his head under the covers… which were quickly snatched away from him, leaving him huddled, unclothed, in the middle of his bed.

“Up,” Tseng repeated. “As I informed you last night, this is part of your punishment. We have a two mile run this morning and then I will be acquainting you with the training hall ahead of schedule.”

Reno sighed, forced himself upright, and grudgingly pulled on the sweats. Somehow, he wasn’t the least bit surprised that Tseng had been serious about all that.

“Do I at least get breakfast, first? Or am I cut off ’til I learn my lesson?” he grumbled. The senior Turk chuckled softly.

“I see nothing to gain from starving you… nor would I dare risk the good doctor’s wrath for doing so when she’s already concerned about your weight. Your breakfast is on the table. Though if you wish to eat it, I suggest you hurry. We’re leaving in ten minutes whether you’re ready to go or not.” With that, the Wutaiian withdrew from the room, leaving the redhead to finish his morning routine at a rapid pace.

A few minutes later, he took a seat at the table. Toast, fruit, and oatmeal. Again. Apparently Tseng wasn’t much for variety. Not that it really bothered Reno. Food was food, as far as he was concerned, and he bolted it down without a second thought as Tseng watched in silence. He drained the cup of coffee that had been waiting for him as well, and then glanced over at his mentor.

“Alright… I’m ready to be punished,” he sighed in resignation.

Tseng smirked and stood up, motioning for the teen to follow him out the back door of the apartment. Reno found himself looking out across the park he’d crept through last night. The mako lights still glowed warmly in the darkness of pre-dawn. The pair made their way down a short path to a wide walkway that stretched out into the morning fog.

“It’s exactly two miles around,” Tseng stated. “We’ll start with a single circuit today, as you’re not accustomed to our routine yet.”

“Tch… Once around? Please. I could do that in my sleep. And a hell of a lot faster than you could.”

Tseng merely smirked. “Feel free to set your own pace, then. I’ll meet you back here.”

Reno grinned and took off at a sprint. If there was one thing he could do well, it was run. His speed had gotten him out of more than one sticky situation in the past. He’d have this done in nothing flat, and be sitting on a bench waiting for the Turk lieutenant to catch up.

… By the halfway point, he felt like he was dying.

Two miles was whole a lot farther than he’d realized. He staggered to a stop and leaned forward, his hands on his knees, supporting his upper body as he dragged in one gasping breath after another. In hindsight, putting everything he had into that initial burst might not have been the best idea. He stayed like that for several minutes, one hand pressed tightly against the painful stitch that had formed in his side.

Quiet footfalls approached him from behind.

“What was that you were saying about doing this faster than me?” Tseng queried. Much to Reno’s utter disgust, the man wasn’t even slightly out of breath. He, meanwhile, probably looked like he was about to keel over. The redhead tried to think of something witty to say in response… but the best he could manage at the moment was an exhausted groan. Tseng smirked and jogged past him, leaving him in the dust.

By the time he did finally make it back to where they’d started, he was drenched in sweat and ready to go back to bed. Tseng, on the other hand, was sitting patiently on the bench, waiting for him.

“Tomorrow we’ll try for two laps,” he said. Reno stared at him incredulously for a moment, and then dropped to the ground, letting his body fall into the cool grass with a soft thud, and lay there, motionless. The senior Turk chuckled. “Must you really be so melodramatic?”

“… Why the hell would anyone wanna do this to themselves everyday?!”

Tseng hoisted him back to his feet. “You’ll get used to it. In any event, you have just enough time to shower and change for work. We’ll begin your first real workout when we get to the gym.”

“… Can’t you just kill me now, instead?” the redhead groaned. “Do we really gotta drag it out?”

---

They arrived the Shinra Building shortly before six, and Tseng took him straight to the training hall on the thirty-third floor… where they both changed back into workout clothes, and he was marched into the main workout area. Much to Reno’s surprise, a familiar face was already there to greet them.

“Good morning, sir,” Rude said to the Turk Second, backing away from the punching bag he’d been working at. He flashed the redhead a friendly smile, and, Reno noted, he was still wearing the sunglasses he’d given him.

“Ah, not you too, Rude,” Reno lamented. “Don’t tell me you get up before the goddamn sun to exercise, like he does…”

“Not always.”

“Rude, when you’re finished would you mind joining us? Reno will be doing extra sparring this morning as punishment for his… transgression… last night. He’ll need a partner.”

“Yes, sir.,” Rude responded. Tseng nodded and led Reno off to the far corner of the hall. He found himself standing on a large, cushioned mat.

“Before we can accomplish much of anything, I need to get some idea of your current fighting skills,” Tseng said, “So for now… I simply want you to attack me in any way you wish.”

“Uh… ‘kay,” the redhead replied, hesitantly. Attacking a trained Turk seemed like a terrible idea, frankly. Especially one that he’d thoroughly pissed off less than twelve hours ago. He sighed inaudibly. There was no sense in stalling. He was getting his ass handed to him no matter what he did… might as well get it over with.

Reno aimed a punch at Tseng’s face, putting as much force behind it as he could muster… only to have the Wutaiian side-step it easily. His own momentum carried him straight past the man and he hurriedly spun around to try again. This time, he feinted left and then attacked from the right…

Somehow, he wound up flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Ow…” he said, dully. The rookie grunted softly as he rolled over and pushed himself to his knees before staggering upright again. “Why do I get the feelin’ you’re enjoyin’ this?”

Tseng merely smiled.

“Again.”

He went for the legs next, hoping to knock the senior Turk’s feet out from under him… or at least get him off balance enough that he could sneak in a last second punch. Unfortunately for him, Tseng saw it coming a mile away, and turned the attack back on him, sending him sprawling to the floor, facedown. Reno growled and scrambled to his feet again, charging his mentor with a burst of speed unexpected enough that it somehow got past the man’s defenses.

Or maybe Tseng was just giving him a free shot out of sheer pity. He wasn’t entirely sure which. Either way, the redhead tackled his opponent, dragging them both to the mat. Which would have been quite an accomplishment if he’d had the faintest idea what to do with him once he got him down. In his moment’s hesitation, Tseng expertly flipped him, and then pinned him on his stomach, forcing his arm painfully behind his back.

“Had enough yet?” Reno asked, his voice slightly muffled owing to the fact that his face was currently pressed against the floor.

“I think I may have a few more rounds left in me…” Tseng chuckled, releasing him.

Things carried on in much the same vein for the next hour or so, until Reno was so thoroughly worn out that was all but begging for a break. At last, Tseng relented, and the redhead staggered over to the bench along the wall. At some point in the exercise, he’d become very aware of the fact that Rude was watching him. As he took a seat, the other Turk joined him.

“I have an early meeting with Veld, so Rude, I’d like you to take over for a while,” Tseng informed them. “Be upstairs at eight fifteen for the morning briefing.”

“Yes, sir,” Rude replied, and Reno managed a tired nod. Once he’d left them, Rude snickered and draped an arm over the redhead’s shoulders. “Guess he was just a little annoyed about you being late last night.”

“… Actually, I think he was way more annoyed that I snuck out later and got arrested.”

Rude stared at him for a moment, not saying anything. Finally he shook his head and stood up, pulling the redhead to his feet as well.

“I don’t think I even want to know.”

“Good. ‘Cause I still feel like an idiot.” He followed Rude out onto the mat, and readied himself for round two. “Don’t s’pose we could skip this and run down to the cafeteria instead?”

“… He’s already pissed at you. What makes you think I want him pissed at me?” the other rookie laughed.

---

Reno and Rude arrived at Turks Headquarters with a few minutes to spare, and Reno took the opportunity to avail himself of the free coffee in the lounge before the two of them made their way to the large conference room where the morning briefing was to take place.

“So… what is it that we do at this briefing, anyway?” the redhead asked.

“Veld and Tseng give us updates on company news, mention anything we need to know about ongoing operations, give us our assignments for the day if we’re not already working on something… that sort of thing. It’s how we keep everyone up to date on what’s going on. There’s an afternoon briefing at four thirty, too, but it’s for the senior Turks. We won’t have to worry about that.”

He opened the door to the conference room and they found that several others had already arrived. Reno quickly recognized Saya and Sato, deep in muted conversation over a file folder at the far end of the table. Luca was chatting amiably with Kai and Remy… and another Turk, who Reno suddenly realized he recognized.

He was tall and thin, with spiked black hair and a tribal-style tattoo down one side of his face. Much like Kai, he was dressed more casually than some of the other Turks… lacking a tie, and with the top two buttons of his shirt undone. Reno was absolutely certain he’d seen him talking to Wilfred a few years ago… and not in the pleasant, I’m just being neighborly sense. The bar owner hadn’t been especially forthcoming about who he was… but he certainly hadn’t looked much like a Turk back then. He elbowed Rude and nodded to the man.

“I think I know that guy…” he whispered.

“That’s Tres. Used to work for Corneo down in Wall Market.”

That kind of explained it, then. Wilfred used to get his stock from a supplier in Sector Four. He’d switched to Corneo not long after that guy had shown up looking all threatening and shit. He’d always sort of wondered if the two incidents were related.

The pair took a seat near the door, and a moment later, Kai broke away from her conversation and made her way over to them. She slipped around behind them, and placed an arm over each of their shoulders, leaning down between them.

“Hey, there, Turklings! What are we whispering about on this fine morning?” she asked, loudly, drawing all eyes in the room over to them. Rude sank down slightly in his seat, obviously uncomfortable under the scrutiny, and Reno shot her a glare.

“Oh, nothin’ much. Just wonderin’ how someone so tiny can be such a giant pain in the ass…” he shot back at the diminutive young woman. Kai grinned and pinched his check.

“You are just such an adorable little baby Turkling, trying to be all big and bad! So cute!” She ruffled his hair, earning her another scowl, and laughed, before wandering back to her previous seat.

“… Thanks,” Rude said softly. “Hate it when she does that.”

A moment later, Veld strolled in, followed closely by Tseng, and the quiet buzz of conversation tapered off.

“Good morning,” the Turk leader said. “First and foremost… I believe most of you have already met our newest rookie, but for those who haven’t, allow me to introduce you to Reno.” He gestured to redhead, and smirked. “Try not to scare him off, please? Tseng seems to be looking forward to training him and I’d hate to deprive him…”

The comment was greeted with a chorus of snickers and chuckles, which was quickly silenced as he continued.

“Now that that’s out of the way… on to business. Shay and Aaron report that they’ve found no further evidence of tampering at the Junon docks. It seems that the man they took down two days ago was working alone. The case is being turned over to base security for monitoring, and they should be returning this afternoon.” He glanced down at a sheet of paper on the table in front of him for a moment. “Assignments. Rude… You’re with Tres today for intelligence gathering in the Slums. Luca and Remy, escort duty for Professor Hojo. You’ll probably be gone a few days. He needs some equipment from the lab in Nibelheim, and you know how particular he is about transfers.”

Remy simply nodded, but Luca made no attempt to hide his groan.

“I’m still injured, ya know,” he protested, motioning to the sling that still supported his arm.

“Take that thing off. You were cleared by Medical yesterday,” Veld replied, shaking his head, “And you’re babysitting Hojo, end of discussion.”

“Wonderful…” the Turk sighed, and several of the other Turks sniggered. Reno didn’t know who this ‘Hojo’ guy was… but he got the impression that no one around here liked him too much.

“Kai. As Tseng will be otherwise occupied with Rufus in Kalm today, you get the newbie.”

“Yes!” she cried, flashing the rookie a feral grin. “Fresh meat!”

Reno glanced uncertainly over at Tseng… who only smiled somewhat less than apologetically. Something told him that him being paired up with Kai today was intentional.

“Saya and Sato,” Veld continued, ignoring the excited Turk. “Any progress on your currentassignment?”

“Some,” Saya replied. “We’ve managed ta track down our thief’s fence, and we’ve recovered most of what was taken from the shipment. We’ve got him downstairs waitin’ ta be interrogated. The bastard that did the takin’ is still in the wind.”

“Find him, make an example of him,” Veld ordered.

“On it, sir,” the pair chorused.

“One last item,” the Turk leader continued. “There has, apparently, been an outbreak of Mideelian Yellow Fever in Sectors Four and Five. Medical has advised that anyone living in those sectors be vaccinated against it if they haven’t already. I am taking it a step farther and requiring that all of you report to Medical by the end of the day, whether you’ve been immunized or not, for either the initial vaccine or the booster. I don’t need sick Turks.”

Reno was pretty sure he paled at that command. For Ifrit’s sake… the Doc had just shot him full of all kinds of shit a couple days ago. Now he had to go through that again? There was some minor grumbling, but no one else seem particularly concerned by it. More irritated that they would have to take time out of their day to see to it.

“Alright, that’s it. Get to work,” Veld said at last, dismissing them. The group began to file out of the conference room. Kai hurried around to Reno before he could even get up, however, and grinned.

“Come along, my sweet little baby Turkling. Let’s go get our shots now and be done with it.” Her grin turned somewhat sinister. “And then… I get to show you how we Turks train.”

Reno glanced over at Rude. “… Any chance I could switch with you?”

His fellow rookie snorted a somewhat derisive laugh as he stood up and followed Tres toward the door. “Not on your life.”

“Oh, you’re a naughty Turkling, Reno,” Kai chided, “Trying to pawn off your assignment on someone else… If I didn’t know better, I might think you weren’t looking forward to training with me!”

“Imagine that…” the rookie replied, dryly.

---

Medical was surprisingly crowded when they arrived. Apparently, there were a lot of employees who lived in Sectors Four and Five.

“Next!” a familiar voice called out, as they joined one of the lines. It was echoed a moment later by another voice behind the next screen over. If nothing else, Shinra’s medical team was efficient. The redhead found himself at the front of the line far sooner than he’d hoped to be.

“Next!”

He hesitated, swallowing sharply.

“Well, go on… We’re on a tight schedule!” Kai said, nudging him forward, and with a resigned sigh, he slipped behind the screen.

“Back already are yeh?” Dr. Ward greeted him, smiling. “Well, sit yeh down. This won’t take but a second or two.”

“… Don’t s’pose you could just tell Veld that I’m good to go…” he muttered, taking a seat with no small amount of trepidation.

“Oh, for Shiva’s sake… This is nothing compared ta yer first visit. Now… off with the jacket and roll up a sleeve for me. I’ve got a lot of patients ta see today.”

Reno did as asked and then turned his head away, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He may have to get the damn shot, but he sure as fuck didn’t have to watch. Ward chuckled softly, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, before wiping down his bicep with rubbing alcohol. Reno felt the sharp pinch of the needle sliding into him and bit back a whimper.

“There yeh are. All finished,” Ward said, placing a band-aid over the injection site. Reno finally allowed himself to relax as he rolled his sleeve back down and shrugged into his jacket. Ward stroked a hand over the back of his head and held out something bright green to him. “Here… For being such a good little patient.”

The redhead grinned, his earlier worry forgotten now that it was over and seized the green sucker from the doctor before hopping down from the table and making his way out. He tore off the wrapper and stuck it in his mouth as he spotted Kai emerging from her own appointment. She blinked in surprise.

“Hey, no fair! Why’d you get candy?”

Reno smirked as he strode up to her.

“Perks of bein’ a ‘Turkling’,” he shot back. Finally… a reason to be glad he was the youngest.

~end chapter 13~