Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 30: First Kill

“Why the fuck are we leavin’ town now?” Reno asked, stuffing a few more items into his travel bag. They were going to the western continent, to the wilderness in the south… the farthest he’d ever been from home. Quite a ways farther south than the Gold Saucer. Normally, he’d have been excited… but Rude was due back at work today, after being off an entire week following his unfortunate encounter with the redhead’s cooking. “Today’s the first day of Hell Week!”

“And that’s precisely why we have an assignment that will keep us away from Midgar for most, if not all, of the week. You have to go through it eventually, as well. It’s not fair if you see what it entails ahead of time,” Tseng replied. “Now hurry and finish packing. Our transport leaves from Junon in two hours, and we still need to get there to board it.”

“Tch… and that’s another thing… What’s with the fuckin’ boat? Why can’t we just take the copter? You keep tellin’ me you’re gonna teach me to fly it, but we hardly ever use it,” the redhead groused, irritated. He was already supremely annoyed at being forced to abandon his best friend when he needed his support, and now every little slight was beginning to add to that.

“Because our target isn’t likely to simply present himself to us. It does us no good to announce our arrival in the area, and while helicopters are many things… subtle isn’t one of them,” the Wutaiian Turk chuckled. “Bring extra socks. It’s the rainy season in the south.”

Reno rolled his eyes at his mentor, but stuffed another two pairs into the bag.

“Are we sure this guy’s even down there? Sounds like a pretty shit place to hide out, ya ask me.”

According to Tres, a former employee had recently left the city and headed across the ocean… which wouldn’t have normally interested the Turks, but it seemed that said former employee had decided to take a one of the R&D department’s prototypes with him. Saya and Sato had tracked him as far as his departure from a small private dock south of Junon, but Veld had recalled them to Midgar last night in favor of sending the Turks’ youngest rookie off on his first real mission. Which, apparently, had the added benefit of removing the Turks’ youngest rookie from the building for the duration of Rude’s Hell Week. He doubted that was a coincidence.

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t be my first choice,” Tseng replied with a soft laugh. “Aside from a small town called Gongaga, that region is little more than forests, swamps, and the odd mountain or two. Hardly luxurious. But an ideal place to hide, if one knows the terrain, and Mr. Summers is originally from the area. Our orders are to terminate on sight. Given what he took, he undoubtedly is aware of that.”

“S’pose it makes sense he’d run someplace he feels safe, then…” the redhead mused. A second later, he paused and looked up in surprise. “Wait. So we’re… just gonna kill him? Just like that?”

“I’m afraid so. It’s not one of the more enjoyable parts of our job, but it is a necessary one. Shinra Company does not tolerate corporate espionage. Particularly where weapons development is concerned. While Summers isn’t any great threat personally, whomever he might be planning on selling that weapon to may be. His fate will be made known to the department at large to discourage others from following his example.”

The redhead shuddered slightly. A little more than half a year he’d been with the Turks, but his actual time in the field had been fairly limited. He’d certainly never been tasked with anything like this before. He supposed it was inevitable, though. He knew the Turks killed people. He knew that, eventually, he’d be expected to do the same. Still, though… He was glad he was going with Tseng. It was really his mission, not the rookie’s. He could just… watch… this time.

Reno forcibly shoved the thought from his head and zipped his bag closed.

“Ready?” Tseng asked, gesturing toward the door. The rookie nodded and followed him. The older man paused for a moment in the doorway. “Incidentally… you don’t get seasick… do you?”

The redhead grinned and turned around, walking backwards ahead of the Turk lieutenant as they made their way out to the parking lot.

“No idea,” he replied, “Never been on a boat before.”

---

Boats, Reno quickly decided, were overrated.

It had, admittedly, been kind of cool watching from his perch on the upper deck as the crew had gotten to work, casting off and taking them out to sea. But once Junon was little more than a distant spec on the horizon, it quickly became apparent that all the sea had to offer was… more sea. There was literally nothing but water, stretching on endlessly in all directions. Even the birds, by now, had deserted them, unwilling to venture so far from land.

It was a small boat. Not one of the big cargo ships that normally sailed out of Junon. Those were much slower than the little ferry they’d hopped aboard. It would have taken almost a full day to make the crossing… maybe closer to two if the weather had turned. This would get them to Costa del Sol by mid-afternoon. Then they’d have to find some other manner of transportation south.

The redhead found himself laying on his back on the narrow platform above the ship’s bowsprit, legs dangling over either side, staring up at the clouds as they passed under them. He could already feel the temperature rising slightly as they ventured into more tropical waters.

“I hope you’re not expecting me to jump in after you should fall off of that…”

Reno snickered and lifted his head to find Tseng standing behind the metal railing at the edge of the deck.

“… Because, though I’d willingly do so were it necessary to prevent your untimely demise, I think I would prefer to avoid getting wet,” the senior Turk added, teasingly.

“Ah, relax. I’m not goin’ anywhere,” the rookie replied, turning his gaze back up at the sky. The boat suddenly rolled sharply to one side, broadsided by a large wave, and Reno was forced to grab hold of the platform to keep from being tossed overboard. It was several seconds before things stopped moving so much. “… Uh… on second thought, it’s gettin’ a little rough out here…”

Tseng laughed as the rookie carefully ducked back under the railing to join him within the safety of the main deck. Reno grinned.

“Hey, ‘least I’m not seasick…”

“Which is very fortunate for you… as I would not be retrieving you from the water if you were in the same condition your impromptu lunch date put Rude in last week,” the senior Turk replied, smirking. Reno groaned.

“None of you guys are ever gonna let me live that one down, are you?”

He’d been putting up with comments like that all week long. And much of the weekend, for that matter. Tseng gently ruffled his hair, earning him an annoyed glare from the redhead.

“I very seriously doubt it.” His smile widened. “I most certainly will not be, at any rate. Thanks to you, I’m officially no longer the worst cook on the team. As lacking as my food tends to be, it has somehow never managed to poison anyone.”

“Oh, ha fuckin’ ha…” the rookie replied, rolling his eyes.

Tseng chuckled, and turned his gaze on the horizon.

“I believe we’re nearing our destination,” he commented, and Reno turned to look. The far shore was, indeed, now just barely visible as a dark stripe separating sea from sky.

“How much longer, ya think?” the redhead asked.

“Probably an hour or two. I’d like to make as much progress south as we can today. We’ll eat on the way.”

Reno nodded. He’d kind of figured they wouldn’t be sticking around the resort town for long. Too bad, though… he really would have liked to have seen more of it. They’d spent a very short time there on the way home from his birthday trip to the Gold Saucer – just long enough to grab a bite to eat on the beach – but he hadn’t gotten to explore much of anything.

“Hey, Tseng? I heard President Shinra’s got a vacation house in Costa del Sol. You ever seen it?”

“Of course. I’m usually included in the family’s security detail when they vacation, so I’ve stayed there several times, in fact. It’s quite nice, though I prefer to be a bit farther from the main part of town when I visit on personal time. It’s quieter.”

Reno shook his head. “Weird to think there’s people who have so much money they can just have whole houses anywhere they wanna go. Down in Two, I considered myself lucky to find a place I could afford that still had all four walls…”

“It doesn’t seem entirely fair, does it?”

“Since when’s life fair?” Reno asked with a shrug. “Some people just get dealt a shit hand… That’s all there is to it.”

“Like you?” Tseng prodded. The redhead snickered.

“Heh… Yeah, my hand was pretty craptastic. Got a much better one on that last draw, though,” he laughed. “So… When we get there, how are we gettin’ south, anyway?”

“Oh… I have an idea or two on that…”

---

“Oof! Quit it, you Ifrit forsaken fuck!” the redhead hissed as his mount jolted upwards again. The motion was needlessly painful – for Reno, anyway – and, Tseng was certain, thoroughly intentional. At the rate his ward was going, he’d be lucky if he’d be able to walk by the time they reached their destination.

The large yellow bird warked in amusement, and ducked it’s entire body forward. Reno gave a sharp cry as his seat was suddenly no longer beneath him, and tumbled head over heels to the ground. He somersaulted twice before coming to a rather abrupt halt against a large rock.

“You miserable bastard!” he groaned, slowly righting himself. Quiet laughter answered him, as Tseng brought his own chocobo to a stop a few feet away and gazed down at him.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“No! That feathered freak is tryin’ to kill me!” the rookie complained, rubbing his now tender inner thighs. “Or fuckin’ castrate me… One of the two.”

They really hadn’t gone far. Upon arriving in Costa del Sol, the senior Turk had procured the two birds, and they’d left almost immediately… but Reno’s inexperience with them had become very apparent, very quickly. And it didn’t help that the the animal didn’t seem to like him very much. Tseng shook his head and offered the rookie a hand.

“Come ride with me for awhile. I was going to suggest it anyway, before your… unexpected dismount. We’ll be coming up on some treacherous paths soon. Not a good place for a novice to have to worry about keeping his chocobo under control.”

Reno nodded and let Tseng pull him up behind him. He settled himself as comfortably as he could manage, and Tseng prodded the bird toward the rookie’s former mount, seizing the reins to guide it along. A second sharp kick sent the chocobos running and Reno was forced to wrap his arms tightly around his mentor’s waist to keep from falling again.

“How ’bout a little warning next time?!” he groused. Tseng snickered, but said nothing. Soon, they were deep in the mountains, with Reno holding on for dear life as the bird nimbly passed over the steep trails. They paused on a high ridge, and Tseng pointed down towards the valley below them.

“That’s Corel down there,” he said. “The residents are largely coal miners. These mountains have a rather abundant supply.”

“That make ’em Shinra’s competition?” Reno asked, peering out from behind his mentor. It was a cozy little place. A scattering of wood-frame buildings, a large water tower, and train tracks leading up into the mountains.

“Perhaps in the local market. Though as I understand it, Corel is on the shortlist for potential reactor sites. The town and its mines may well be Shinra property in the very near future.” He turned and pointed to the south. “And I’m quite certain you recognize that location.”

Reno grinned widely. The strange, treelike silhouette of the Gold Saucer was visible in the distance, surrounded by an ocean of desert.

“Don’t s’pose we have time to stop?” he asked, his tone only half-serious.

“I’m afraid not,” Tseng chuckled. “I suppose you’ve brought that lifetime pass of yours with you on the off chance you might talk me into it…”

“… Maybe,” the redhead replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“We are here to work, Reno,” he said sternly. The teenager’s shoulders sagged in obvious disappointment, but he only nodded. Tseng sighed. “… Perhaps if we can wrap this up quickly, I will consider a very brief visit on the way back.”

“Yes!”

“But only if time allows. Veld expects this to be handled by the end of the week, and I don’t intend to be late returning.”

“Tch… so what are we doin’ hangin’ around here, then? Enough sightseein’. Let’s get movin’!”

Tseng obligingly spurred the chocobo forward again, and Reno’s grip on him tightened slightly. Under normal circumstances, he never would have made such an offer. Turks did not work for such childish rewards, and allowing his rookie to fall into the habit of expecting such recompense for finishing a job would do neither of them any good.

However… if things went according to plan, this wasn’t going to be a normal mission, and Reno might well not be in the mood for a trip to the amusement park anyway.

---

Sunday afternoon, a day earlier…

“Saya reported in this morning. They’ve lost track of him. He boarded a ship bound for the Gongaga region,” Veld said, frowning at the view from his living room window.

“I assume they’ll be following?” Tseng replied.

“No. I’ve recalled them to Midgar.”

The Turk lieutenant looked up from his tea in surprise.

“… Sir?” he queried. It wasn’t like his mentor to pull two capable Turks out of the field with a target in the wind.

“We know roughly where he’s headed. A day or so’s delay in catching up to him won’t cost us much. I want you and Reno to take over. I’ve had Junon security book you passage on a ferry out of Lower Junon tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied. Now he understood. Hell Week was to begin tomorrow for the older rookie. Tseng had been planning on keeping Reno occupied elsewhere for the duration to avoid ruining the surprise for when his own time came. This was simply a convenient opportunity to make doing so that much easier.

Veld stepped back from the window and rejoined his Second at the little table.

“That’s quite enough of that. You two know the rule,” a female voice chastised, from the direction of the kitchen. She emerged, moments later carrying a small platter of cookies, and a fresh pot of coffee. “No shop talk at home,” demanded, as she refilled Veld’s mug. She turned to the other Turk and smiled. “More tea, Tseng?”

“No, thank you. I believe you’ve plied me with enough to sustain me the entire week at this point,” he replied, chuckling softly. Esme was a lovely woman who doted on her husband… but she didn’t tolerate any sort of discussion of Turks’ business in her home. It was something of a compromise between the two of them. She put up with all of the worry and pain that inherently came with being married to a Turk… and he didn’t bring unnecessary worry and pain home with him.

“For Shiva’s sake, woman!” Veld said teasingly, “I was just telling him that he’d been heading out early tomorrow! It’s not as if we were discussing security checkpoints and infiltration scenarios…”

He seized her by the wrist, and pulled her toward him, quickly catching hold of the coffee pot before it could spill and setting it on the table. Esme laughed and did her best to dance away from him, only to be twirled expertly back into Veld’s arms. He kissed her cheek before releasing her.

“Is Dad in trouble again?” a new voice asked, and a small face peered around the corner from the hallway. The twelve year old emerged from her hiding place, and rolled her eyes.

“So far as I’m aware, your father is always in trouble with your mother,” Tseng interjected before either member of the couple could answer. He quickly hid his smirk behind the tea cup as he took a sip. “It’s a perpetual state for him.”

Felicia giggled and stole a cookie from the plate when her mother wasn’t looking, and then took up residence in the chair next to Tseng.

“Dad says you have a rookie now,” she declared, turning her full attention on the Wutaiian. Esme scoffed and retreated towards the kitchen.

“If it’s not you, it’s your daughter,” she said, shaking her head. “… And she’s not even a Turk! I give up. If you need me, I’ll be baking more cookies.”

Veld laughed quietly and sat down. “Well, now you’ve done it.”

“Well… ?” Felicia prodded, ignoring both of her parents. Tseng snorted faintly in laughter. The girl was always difficult to dissuade, but never moreso than when she was curious about something.

“Yes, I have a rookie now,” he replied, smiling patiently.

“What’s his name?”

“Reno.”

“Is he cute?”

“Felicia!” Veld, interrupted, and Tseng couldn’t help but snicker. Felicia’s very recent discovery of boys had thrown her father for a bit of a loop.

“I don’t think I would be a very good judge of such things,” the Turk lieutenant replied, as diplomatically as he could manage, “I really have no idea what twelve year old girls consider ‘cute’.”

“Go and help your mother, please,” Veld laughed, gently hugging his daughter. Felicia sighed but did as she was told, disappearing into the kitchen in search of Esme. The Turk leader shook his head. “She’s growing up much too fast…”

“As I understand it, children do have a tendency to do that.”

“Too true,” Veld replied, smiling. He suddenly sobered and lowered his voice. “… Speaking of which. You’re aware that Summers is terminate on sight?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Have Reno do it.”

Tseng choked slightly on the sip of tea he’d just taken. “Sir… He’s –”

“I know he’s young. But you know as well as I do that the first time doesn’t get any easier if you put it off. The sooner the better, I think.”

Tseng frowned and set his cup down on the table, staring into the dark liquid. Veld was right. But that knowledge didn’t make the idea any less unappealing.

“… Yes, sir,” he said at last.

---

They stopped in Corel for the night. Tseng had decided that it was too dangerous to venture out into the desert in the dark, even on chocobo-back, and Reno was eternally grateful for the respite. He couldn’t recall his backside ever having hurt so much in his life. Everything from the waist down that wasn’t already numb, simply ached.

“Why the fuck do people ride those things?” he groaned, as he tentatively eased himself down onto the bed.

“Many find it quite enjoyable,” the senior Turk answered.

“Tseng… I can’t even fuckin’ feel my ass at this point. I’m not sure it’s even still there. And everything else down there is… literally throbbing. No one in their right mind would find this ‘enjoyable’.” He flopped back and had to physically lift his legs, one at a time, up onto the mattress by hand. He glared at the snickering Wutaiian.

“You truly do have a gift for the melodramatic,” Tseng teased, tossing him an extra pillow. “It was, admittedly, a rather difficult ride for a beginner, but tomorrow will be easier. The terrain isn’t nearly as uneven and the ride will be much smoother. For now, just try and get some sleep.”

Reno grumbled quietly to himself for a few more minutes, but soon he felt himself drifting off in spite of his aching legs and lower back. The redhead yawned and curled himself into a ball, letting his eyes slide shut.

When he woke, it was to the sound of quiet rustling in the faint light of dawn. Reno tensed his body, stretching tired muscles, and yelped as his calf muscle suddenly contracted in a painful cramp.

“Ow, ow, ow, fuck!” the rookie ground out, massaging the limb in a desperate attempt to get it to relax. At last it did and the redhead breathed a soft sigh of relief.

“… You haven’t even made it out of bed yet and you’ve already injured yourself?” Tseng asked. He pulled open the curtains, letting in a little bit of light. Reno snorted softly and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

“It’s a gift,” he sarcastically replied. Tseng chuckled, and turned back to him.

“Perhaps if you didn’t sleep tied in a knot, you might not be so prone to waking up in one.”

Reno shrugged and got to his feet with a yawn. “And maybe if you didn’t sleep flat on your back, you wouldn’t sound like a Shiva-forsaken buzzsaw,” he shot back, smirking.

“I do not snore,” Tseng replied, a somewhat indignant expression crossing his face.

“Yeah… keep tellin’ yourself that,” the redhead laughed, “So… since we’re both up I guess that means we’re headin’ out?”

“Shortly, yes. Food, first, I think… for both us and the chocobos.”

“Tch… those assholes can starve for all I care. Goddamn mutant feather dusters…”

“You know… I really can’t imagine why they don’t seem to like you,” Tseng snickered.

---

By that evening they’d crossed the desert and forded the small river that marked it’s southern border. Here, the land rapidly turned lush and green, leaving behind the sparse vegetation of the more arid region. Soon, trees began to appear along their route, and it wasn’t long before the were enveloped within a dense forest. The sun had long since disappeared behind the clouds… which, though at this point they were only visible sporadically through the treetops, were beginning to look ominous and dark. When thunder rumbled in the distance a short time later, Reno glanced upwards apprehensively.

“Uh… boss?”

“I did tell you it was the rainy season down here…” Tseng replied, easily interpreting the question. “With luck, it will hold off until we reach Gongaga. I don’t care to be drenched any more than you do…”

“The hell kinda name’s ‘Gongaga’, anyway?” the redhead laughed. “Name like that, there oughta be a hell of a party goin’ on…”

“If that’s what you’re expecting, I’m afraid you’ll be extremely disappointed. Gongaga is a small logging town. Or it used to be, before Shinra built one of its first reactors there. They have less need of the income logging once generated, so there is less logging in general these days. Many are now employed by Shinra, maintaining the reactor.”

“Lemme guess… that’s how our guy wound up workin’ for us, too.”

“A valid assumption. According to his file, Summers showed considerable mechanical ability at the reactor and was later recruited by research and development.”

“So how likely’s this son of a bitch to start shootin’ at us soon as he spots us?”

Tseng glanced back to look at his rookie. “He’s local to the region, and locals are typically fairly… robust. I’d say good odds that he won’t go quietly. Preferably we will simply execute him before he even realizes we’ve located him, but if the weapon prototype isn’t present, we may need to take him alive to ascertain its whereabouts first.”

Reno went silent for a moment, pondering that. It felt… wrong… to just kill a guy an not even have the decency to look him in the face while you did it. On the other hand… he could see how being overly decent might tend to get a Turk killed. If Tseng noticed his hesitation, he didn’t mention it.

“How are we plannin’ on findin’ him without him knowin’ we’re comin’ for him? Guy’s gotta have friends back home. And if he’s got half a brain he’d’ve told ’em not to say shit to anyone wanderin’ around lookin’ for him.”

“With the proper… incentives… even the most loyal of friends will talk. Eventually. You’ve not yet had the opportunity to sit in on an especially difficult interrogation. That’s something we’ll need to rectify soon.”

Reno looked up at the sky again as a fat raindrop smacked him squarely in the forehead. He somehow doubted they were going to make it to Gongaga before that storm hit.

“Hey, Tseng? H-how long’s it take to… ya know… be okay with shit like that?”

“I hope to Leviathan to never find out,” Tseng replied, seriously. “I don’t think any Turk is quite socold-hearted that the things we do cease to affect them. You don’t have to be okay with it. You simply have to learn to live with it.”

The skies suddenly opened up, and the two Turks found themselves in the middle of a deluge. Lighting struck a tree in the distance, followed by a resounding crash of thunder, and Reno’s chocobo balked. The redhead unexpectedly found himself facedown in the mud, as the bird raced off into the forest in a panic.

“Reno!” Tseng called out, alarmed, as he tried to keep his own mount calm. The rookie pushed himself to his knees and spat out a mouthful of mud.

“Ugh… I’m fine. Goddammit, I fuckin’ hate chocobos!”

---

The storm was still raging as they staggered into Gongaga. In the end, Tseng had been forced to lead his bird and walk with Reno. The avian was far too skittish to attempt to ride. They tethered it inside a small stable near the local inn, and walked inside, dripping.

“Got caught, did ya?” the innkeeper queried, glancing up from his newspaper.

“Unfortunately,” Tseng responded with distaste. The old man nodded.

“It’s forty gil a night. Normally I ask for payment in advance, but… head on up and get that boy of yours dried off before he catches his death. First room on the right’s available. Dinner’s in an hour.”

“Thank you,” the Turk lieutenant replied, as he escorted the redhead toward the stairs.

“Tch… Great. Like I don’t get enough of that little kid bullshit at home,” Reno muttered once they were out of earshot. Tseng laughed softly.

“To be fair, you do look a bit like a half-drowned toddler at the moment. Now… I suggest we take the gentleman’s advice and get out of our wet things,” he replied, setting his bag down on the small side table, and stripping out of his jacket before pulling out some dry clothes.

Reno did the same, quickly divesting himself of the sodden fabric and digging through his own bag for something to take away the chill. It may have still been warm down south compared to autumn in Midgar, but that squall had dropped the temperature considerably.

“There’s little more we can do today, I think,” Tseng commented as he changed. “We’ll join our host for dinner, and start fresh in the morning.”

Reno paused in his efforts to dress, and grinned. “In that case… fuck this. I’m gonna go warm up in the shower. Even after gettin’ rained on, I still got mud in places I didn’t even know I had.”

---

It had rained all through the night. A pounding, driving rain with frequent claps of thunder that shook the whole building and flashes of lightning that illuminated the room even with the curtains drawn. Though much of it had passed by dawn, there was still a cold drizzle falling when the two Turks arose, somewhat against their will, knowing they had a target to locate.

“Ugh…” Reno groaned. He rubbed at bleary eyes for a moment before dragging on some clothes. “Well that was a nice, uninterrupted eight hours of sleep…”

“… I’m not yet awake enough to tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” the senior Turk replied biting back a yawn. “And if you’re not… I think I may hate you slightly right now.”

“Please tell me this place has coffee…” the redhead said in response.

Tseng smiled wanly and tucked his weapon into its holster. “I’m sure the innkeeper can accommodate your caffeine addiction. And I think, for once, I may join you in that indulgence. Something tells me my usual tea is simply not going to be enough this morning.”

Breakfast was a quiet affair, that consisted largely of Tseng subtly questioning the innkeeper over steak and eggs, and Reno keeping his mouth alternately shut or filled with food so that his mentor could find out what they needed to know. Far too soon for the redhead’s taste, they found themselves in the forest again, slowly working their way west, towards what their host had referred to as the local hunting grounds.

If their man was really trying to disappear into the forests, he’d need a place he could survive for an extended length of time. The area they’d been directed to was, apparently, a favorite spot among locals for camping, hunting, and fishing. There were good odds they’d find him there… or at least nearby.

“So lemme get this straight,” Reno said, shoving a dripping branch out of his path and sliding past it before letting it snap back into place. “There are people out there… completely insane people… who actually thinklivin’ like a fuckin’ animal for a week or two counts as a vacation?”

Tseng chuckled softly. “Many people find nature to be relaxing, Reno. And yes, there are those who enjoy immersing themselves in it fully for extended periods by camping and living off the land.”

“Fuckin’ lunatics is what they are…” the redhead grumbled. “Wait… you’re not one of ’em, right?”

The senior Turk snorted a laugh. “Hardly. As pleasant as nature can be, I prefer a soft bed to a sleeping bag. Now, Kai, on the other hand is quite the outdoorswoman.”

“Tch… That figures. I already knew she was nuts.”

“Careful,” Tseng replied, turning back and smirking at his young rookie. “Kai will supervising your survival training next month. I suggest not openly insulting one of her favorite pastimes when you’re going to be stuck with her, alone, in the middle of nowhere for a week.”

Reno froze, mid-stride.

“W-wait… WHAT?!”

---

It was growing dark. The sun had already sunk below the treeline, leaving them in an eerie twilight. And still, they hadn’t caught sight of their target. They had however, stumbled upon what may have been the man’s camp… which was the only reason the two of them were still out there, with night fast approaching.

“Come on, Boss… Face it. The fucker’s not comin’ back,” Reno whispered, as he shifted position.

They’d been crouched in these Leviathan-forsaken bushes for what felt like hours now, waiting and watching, with nothing to show for it but bug bites. Thunder was once again rumbling in the distance, and Tseng had the sneaking suspicion that if Summers didn’t turn up soon, they were in for a repeat of last night when they finally managed to return to Gongaga. The Turk lieutenant wasn’t looking forward to that… but he wasn’t ready to give up quite yet. He just had a feeling that Summers would return. They simply had to be patient. Reno scowled at the lack of an answer and leaned back on his heels.

“‘Kay, fine… how much longer are we gonna do this, then?”

“Until I say otherwise. Now settle down and keep quiet.” He reached over and tugged the hood of the redhead’s sweatshirt up, covering his hair. “And try not to stand out so much.”

The rookie snorted softly. “Easy for you to say…”

Tseng smiled and shook his head. He couldn’t exactly contradict him on that. It wasn’t the teen’s fault that he was a natural beacon… particularly surrounded by so much green. A branch snapped somewhere nearby, and Tseng hurriedly ducked, pulling Reno down alongside him.

The Turk lieutenant’s smile widened noticeably as their quarry stepped out of the trees, nervously looking around, as if inspecting his camp for any signs of disturbance… signs that Tseng had been exceptionally careful not to leave when he’d searched it for the stolen prototype earlier. Reno gently nudged him, and he pulled his gaze away from his target long enough to glance down at the rookie. The redhead pointed towards the shadows of the forest, and Tseng realized that Summers had dropped something at the base of a tree. Perhaps the very item they’d been sent to get back.

“Retrieve it,” Tseng mouthed, and Reno nodded. He disappeared silently into the underbrush.

The safe thing to do would be to simply shoot the man. But the prototype was important. R&D wanted it back, and it certainly wasn’t in Shinra’s best interests to return without it. If it wasn’t in that bag, then the only person on the planet who knew where it was, was Summers… and he could hardly give them that information if he was already dead.

Reno reappeared on the far side of the clearing, just as Summers was kneeling down to coax his campfire back to life, and the senior Turk watched as he reached for the bag. Something – and even Tseng wasn’t sure what it had been – gave his protege away, however, and the target was suddenly on his feet, turning towards the rookie. A split second later, the tree Reno was crouched behind quite literally exploded, and Summers shot off in the opposite direction, the weapon still smoking slightly in his hand.

Tseng swore in a brief moment of indecision, and finally darted toward the redhead, letting their quarry escape into the trees. Reno shook his head violently, as if trying to clear it and waved him off.

“I’m okay! Go!”

The Turk lieutenant nodded and abruptly switched directions, sprinting after Summers.

---

There was still a faint, high-pitched ringing in his ears, but Reno still managed to stagger to his feet. He didn’t know what had alerted Summers to his presence, but that had been damned close. He looked over at the remains of the tree beside him. It was little more than a splintered trunk now. Branches and leaves had been blasted in every direction. Looking at it, it was a damn good thing that he’d been crouched low in the brush, or he might have come away from this with something considerably worse than a slight, temporary loss of hearing. Assuming he’d have walked away from it at all.

He didn’t have time to worry about that now, though. Summers was still out there… with that weapon… and Tseng was chasing him. He took off at a dead run in the direction the target had fled.

Agile as he was, on the muddy trail, Reno had a hard time catching up to his quarry. He persisted, however, and was soon within sight of his mentor. Tseng spared a brief glance backwards and looked decidedly relieved to have the redhead close to rejoining him… though he seemed to be faring little better in the muck than Reno was. Fortunately, it turned out that Summers wasn’t exactly having an easy time of it either. At the top of a small rise, Reno saw the Wutaiian Turk stop and take aim at a target farther down the path. A single shot rang out, echoing in the trees that surrounded them, and Reno sighed. It was over. All that was left was the cleanup, and then they could go home.

He trudged up the steep incline, pausing next to his mentor and glanced down at the body… only to freeze when said body suddenly moved, clawing its way forward toward the weapon that had been thrown several paces away from him. He’d never known Tseng to miss. Reno waited for the inevitable second shot that would finish the job, but it never came. The Wutaiian Turk sighed heavily in the damp air.

“… Boss?” Reno queried, uncertainly. Tseng turned to him.

“Finish it.”

“W-what?” the redhead managed, his eyes widening. He swallowed sharply. “W-why do I have ta –”

“Because all Turks have to eventually. Now finish it. Before he reaches that prototype.”

Reno turned his gaze on the injured man. Tseng’s shot had decimated his knee. Summers wasn’t going anywhere very quickly. He suddenly realized that that was intentional. Tseng had ignored a perfectly easy kill shot on purpose, in favor of crippling the target… to make it impossible for Reno to miss.

He glanced back at Tseng, but his mentor’s expression was unreadable. The redhead took a few steps farther toward his target. His hand shook slightly as he leveled his gun at man’s head.

Summers froze in his bid for the weapon and rolled over, looking up the pair of Turks, fear apparent in his eyes.

“Please… Please! Don’t kill me… T-take it back. It’s not worth it! I’ll disappear! Anything… just let me go!”

Reno squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. The Company had ordered the man’s termination. There was to be no reprieve. No matter how much he didn’t want to do this.

“Please! Don’t do this…” Summers begged. Reno opened his eyes, and slowly exhaled. He pulled the trigger.

Summers collapsed, motionless on the leaf-strewn forest floor, his plea dying on his lips. The echo of the shot lingered in the air for several seconds. When it finally faded, the rookie’s gun fell to the ground, disappearing beneath leaf litter. Reno’s arm dropped limply to his side, and a moment later, he, too, dropped, landing on his knees in the mud. He stared numbly at the sight of the dead man. The man he’d just killed.

His stomach recoiled in disgust, and it was all he could do to force down the bile that rose in his throat. Tseng slowly lifted him to his feet, and pulled him tightly against his chest.

“… I’m sorry,” the senior Turk whispered. Reno shoved him away with an angry growl.

“You son of a bitch! Why didn’t you fuckin’ tell me you were gonna make me do it?!” He still felt sick, and an unwanted wetness unrelated to the drizzling rain dampened his face. Tseng shook his head, and knelt down to retrieve the rookie’s weapon from the ground.

“Because it would have only forced you to dwell on it the entire time we were tracking him. I couldn’t bear to make this worse for you than it was already going to be.” He rose to his feet again, and fixed the younger Turk with a look of deep regret. “We are Turks… and Turks are killers. It’s one thing to know that. It’s another thing altogether to understand what that means. Until today, you knew, but you didn’t really understand.”

Reno shivered in cool air. He couldn’t have let him live in that blissful ignorance just a little longer? It had to be now?

“Fuck you, Tseng…” he said after a long moment. Tseng handed him back his gun.

“I don’t blame you for being angry with me. Very few are everreadythe first time they take a life. It’s simply something that has to be,” Tseng answered. He placed an arm around the redhead’s shoulders, turning him away from the grisly sight amongst the trees, only to be rebuffed again. He shook his head, and gestured back in the direction of Gongaga. “Go back to the inn. I’ll deal with Summers’ body. We’ll head home in the morning.”

Reno didn’t bother to look back at him. He simply trudged, wordlessly, back towards town… alone.

---

Summers had traveled prepared. Tseng had found several useful items amongst his possessions… Right now, he was making use of the camping shovel that had been stowed in the man’s pack. He’d gone some distance from the campsite before he’d started to dig. In all likelihood, animals would unearth the body eventually… hopefully, though, that would be a good long time after anyone from town might still be looking for him. At last satisfied with his handiwork, he rolled Summers’ corpse into the void he’d created, and started filling it back in.

Rain was starting to fall again as he finished. It seemed somehow appropriate to his current mood.

He couldn’t help but feel he’d stolen something precious from his ward tonight. Reno was a genuinely kind person at heart. He didn’t relish killing, like some men did… and Tseng seriously doubted he ever would. He could still remember to look of self-disgust that had been etched on the boy’s face that day in Sector One when he’d been forced to defend himself and thought he’d killed his attacker. He could still remember the odd mixture of relief and terror that had replaced it when the man had suddenly sprung back to life and seized the redhead, too.

Tseng made his way back to the camp, and started to pack it all away. There was a small ravine a short distance south. He would dump the supplies there before returning to Gongaga. If anyone found them, they’d assume their previous owner had been traveling in the opposite direction of his small, shallow grave.

By then, however, the sun had set and the storm had arrived in earnest. Reno would have long since made it back to the little town… but it was going to be a far more difficult trip for him. And a dangerous one, at that. With a faint groan, he resigned himself to spending the night in the dead man’s tent, and crawled inside, out of the inclement weather. He frowned as he tried his phone, intending to alert the rookie to his delayed return, only to find that either the storm or the remoteness of his current location had left him without service.

“Of course…” he sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

---

Over the last few hours, Reno had gone from brooding anger… to cold indifference… to vague concern… and finally to tenuously-restrained panic, as the hour grew later and later and there was still no sign of Tseng. Where in the nine hells was that bastard? It couldn’t possibly take that long to get rid of a body…

The redhead poked, uninterested, at the bowl of potato stew the innkeeper had served up for dinner. It was tasty… but he was too distracted to eat. Half a dozen scenarios kept running though his head. What if Tseng was lost? Or hurt? Or lost and hurt? What if Summers hadn’t been as alone out there as they’d thought? Or some creature had smelled the blood and come to investigate?

He flipped open his phone, and scowled darkly at the display. Still no service. He couldn’t even call for help if the goddamn son of a bitch didn’t turn up by morning.

He was still angry, but worry was beginning to quell a good deal of it. Even if he was currently furious at Tseng for blindsiding him like that… he was still his friend. More than a friend, really. His stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of not seeing him walking up the road to town in the morning.

He should have stayed with him. He should have acted like a Turk and not a goddamn five year old throwing a temper tantrum, and fucking stayed. He was warm and dry and fed, and Tseng was… fuck only knew where, but given the way the storm was raging, probably just the opposite by now. And now Reno was angry and he was scared, and that was pissing him the fuck off even more!

He jumped slightly as a hand unexpectedly patted his shoulder, and the redhead turned to see the old innkeeper, looking down at him compassionately.

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said, “Your old man probably just ended up hunkered down somewhere to wait out the storm. He’ll be back when it lets up.”

Reno snorted softly, and poked at his food.

“Tch… We’re not related, ya know,” he muttered, still mildly annoyed that everyone he met lately seemed to think he was somewhere closer to twelve than seventeen. The man laughed and ruffled the rookie’s hair… a gesture he was quickly coming to hate.

“You don’t say…” he chuckled, somewhat sarcastically, “Never woulda guessed what with all that family resemblance and all.”

Reno merely rolled his eyes.

“He takes care of you, don’t he?”

“Yeah…”

“And I’m just guessing here, but I’d wager you don’t have anyone else around to do that…”

The redhead shrugged.

“Well, close enough then,” he declared. “Anyway… it’s late. You finish that up and head on up to bed. No sense sitting up worrying all night.”

Reno sighed and obligingly polished off the remainder of his meal. The guy had a point. And if he ended up having to go out looking for the senior Turk tomorrow, he’d be completely worthless if he was exhausted from having not slept. He got to his feet and headed for the stairs.

“Hey, kid?” the innkeeper called after him. The rookie paused at the foot of the stairs and turned back. “Just for the record… my boy ain’t my blood, neither. Never made a lick of difference to either of us.”

---

Tseng slogged back into Gongaga just after sunrise the next morning. It had been a very long, very sleepless, night. He was filthy and damp, he was tired, and he was hungry, but more than that, he was eager to be reunited with his rookie… who hopefully was feeling a little less betrayed by now. He slipped quietly into the inn, and was greeted by the scent of fresh baked bread. His stomach growled faintly in response as he helped himself to the platter that had been set out on the long sidetable near the kitchen.

The door in the back of the inn opened and the proprietor shuffled inside with an armload of wood for the fireplace.

“Mornin’,” he said cordially, as he set down his load and brushed off his hands. “Wondered when you’d finally turn up…”

“I thought it unwise to risk the trip back in the dark in the middle of a downpour…”

“Smart man,” he replied, nodding in approval. “The boy’s upstairs, asleep. He’s been worried about you.”

“Thank you,” Tseng replied. He made his way up to their room, soundlessly easing the door open. Reno was splayed across one of the beds on his stomach, tangled in the sheets. An arm and a leg hung limply over the edge of the mattress. Apparently, he’d been a little restless last night. Usually, Tseng found him curled into a ball in the center of the bed, buried beneath the covers.

The Wutaiian reached out a hand, and shook him gently. The redhead immediately tensed and attempted to roll over, obviously not realizing how dangerously close he was to falling. He landed on the floor with a surprised yelp and a loud thud, swearing as he looked up and recognized his mentor. Tseng couldn’t stop the faint smirk that crossed his lips.

“Goddammit, Tseng!” the redhead growled, angrily righting himself and glaring up at him from the floor. “Where the fuck have you been?”

Tseng laughed quietly and helped him to his feet.

“… Please tell me that’s not what I look like when you return home past your curfew and I end up asking you the same question…”

Reno narrowed his eyes. “I’m still pissed at you…” he assured him, ignoring the teasing.

“I know,” Tseng replied. “And you have a right to be. But the fact of the matter is there are going to be things that I will have to force you to do that will not be pleasant. Especially now that you’re starting to be sent into the field. I can’t shield you from the reality of our job forever… no matter how much I wish I could.”

The redhead sank down onto the bed, still scowling, and Tseng joined him a moment later. He sighed.

“Veld warned me, you know… quite some time ago, in fact,” he added, after a brief silence, “He said that one of the hardest things I would ever have to do as your mentor was order you to kill for the first time, and he was right. I’m not sure I was any more ready for it than you were.”

Reno remained stubbornly silent, but some of the tension in his posture relaxed. Tseng ran a hand down the younger Turk’s back, and was relieved when he didn’t push him away this time.

“Go down and get some breakfast. I’m going to clean up, and then we’ll start for home.”

“… ‘kay,” he replied.

---

The trip back to Midgar had been slow and painful. Reno was far from his usual talkative self until they reached Junon, and Tseng had opted to give him the freedom to sort through what he was feeling himself, rather than push him. It wasn’t until they were boarding a supply truck bound for Midgar that he finally seemed to reach a conclusion.

“… Hey, Tseng?” the redhead prodded as the small convoy got underway. Land travel wasn’t optimal, as it required a lengthy trip through the mountains, but if they wanted to go by air, they would have to wait until tomorrow.

“Yes?”

“Was it like this for you?” he asked. Tseng didn’t need him to elaborate.

“The first person I killed was… not much older than you, actually. He’d broken into a small Shinra facility near Rocket Town. Veld and I were there purely by chance, and I think he realized that he wasn’t going to walk away from the encounter unscathed. He shot Veld in the shoulder before we even realized he was there. And then he ran. Veld ordered me to shoot to kill. So I did. It wasn’t until afterward that I realized that there was no reason Veld couldn’t have done it himself,” he replied, “I was… angry, too, for awhile. Both at Veld, and at myself. Up until then, training as a Turk seemed… almost like a game.” He snorted derisively and shook his head. “I was a bit naïve as a rookie, I’m afraid.”

“… Guess we got that in common, then. Kinda seemed like a game to me, too, sometimes,” the redhead admitted. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “It’s serious as fuck, though… isn’t it?”

“Most of the time… yes. Yes it is.”

Reno leaned back against on of the crates they’d nestled themselves in between in the back of the truck, and turned his gaze toward the fading silhouette of Junon in the distance behind them.

“… That’s why we look after each other so tenaciously,” Tseng added. “No one else in the world understands a Turk like another Turk.”

The redhead didn’t answer. He simply inched closer to his mentor, and settled in for the remainder of the ride home.

~end chapter 30~